"March 23 Executive Yuan Occupation" Defense Case Second-Instance Ruling: 1 Acquitted, 16 Convicted

The Criminal Division of the Taiwan High Court delivered its second-instance ruling on the March 23 Executive Yuan occupation case today. The ruling not only upheld the guilty verdicts from the first instance but also overturned the previous acquittals on charges of "instigating others to commit offenses," finding those defendants guilty instead. The pro bono defense team expressed regret and disappointment over this outcome.

Following the March 23 Executive Yuan occupation incident, prosecutors heavily indicted 132 individuals. Although the government withdrew its complaints and dismissed the charges for 126 individuals regarding offenses subject to complaint, 21 individuals still faced trial because their charges were not subject to complaint. In April 2017, the court of first instance convicted 11 of these individuals and acquitted the other 10. Following appeals by both the prosecutors and the defendants, and after an entire year last year marked by the presiding judge's evident bias—which prompted an unsuccessful recusal motion by the defense team—retrials commenced this year. Yet, precisely on the sixth anniversary of March 24, we are once again left to feel a sense of despair regarding the judiciary.

More than thirty years have passed since Taiwan transitioned from authoritarianism to democracy. In our highly democratized contemporary era, we are still witnessing the prosecution and police systems exercising state power to pursue citizens who peacefully exercised their freedom of speech and assembly. Conversely, the prosecutorial system's efforts to investigate police violence fall far short of its pursuit of defendants who have made profound contributions to Taiwan's democracy. Today's ruling not only results in eight of the defendants in this case facing a final, definitive guilty verdict, but also reverses the acquittals of defendants originally charged with "instigating others to commit offenses." This fully highlights how authoritarian remnants—which position the judiciary as an enemy of the people—still persist regarding social movements.

The actions of March 18 and March 23 shaped Taiwan's democratic landscape today and reinforced the awakening of contemporary popular sovereignty among the public. This movement should be viewed as a whole. While the defendants in the March 18 Legislative Yuan occupation case were all acquitted, the defendants in the March 23 Executive Yuan occupation case, six years later today, remain burdened by ongoing litigation and are paying a legal price for this movement.

The defendants in this case are brave participants who care about Taiwan's democracy and rule of law; they should not be forgotten by history. Today's ruling is deeply regrettable and disappointing, and the defense team continues to hope that the state will refrain from using judicial means to suppress protests. Regarding the parts of the case that can still be appealed, the defense team will discuss with their clients to decide whether to file an appeal.

Ruling List

Indicted Offense	Name	First-Instance Ruling	Second-Instance Ruling	Appealable After Second-Instance Ruling
Obstruction of Official Duties	Ch'en Chien-pin	Imprisonment for 4 months, commutable to a fine	Appeal dismissed	X
	Huang Kuo-yang	Imprisonment for 4 months, commutable to a fine	Appeal dismissed	X
	Ch'en Wei-ch'eng	Imprisonment for 4 months, commutable to a fine	Appeal dismissed	X
	Hsieh Sheng-yu	Imprisonment for 5 months, commutable to a fine	Appeal dismissed	X
	Hsu Chê-jung	Imprisonment for 3 months, commutable to a fine	Appeal dismissed	X
	Wu Ch'ung-tao	Imprisonment for 3 months, commutable to a fine	Appeal dismissed	X
	Liu Chien-ming	Imprisonment for 3 months, commutable to a fine	Appeal dismissed	X
	Lin T'ang-yu	Imprisonment for 4 months, commutable to a fine	Appeal dismissed	X
Damaging Articles Kept by Public Servants	Li Kuan-ling	Imprisonment for 4 months, commutable to a fine	Appeal dismissed	O
	Hsu Shun-chih	Imprisonment for 4 months, commutable to a fine	Appeal dismissed	O
Instigating Others to Commit Offenses	Hsu Shun-chih	Acquitted	Imprisonment for 2 months, commutable to a fine (combined execution of 5 months with the offense of damaging articles kept by public servants)	O
	Wei Yang	Acquitted	Imprisonment for 4 months, commutable to a fine	O
	Ch'en T'ing-hao	Acquitted	Imprisonment for 4 months, commutable to a fine	O
	Chiang Ping-lun	Acquitted	Imprisonment for 3 months, commutable to a fine	O
	Liu Ching-wen	Acquitted	Imprisonment for 2 months, commutable to a fine	O
	Lin Chien-hsing	Acquitted	Imprisonment for 3 months, commutable to a fine	O
	Hsu Li	Acquitted	Appeal dismissed, acquitted	--
	K'o T'ing-yu	Acquitted	Imprisonment for 2 months, commutable to a fine	O

Attending Representatives

Pro Bono Defense Team Against the Black Box Cross-Strait Trade Agreement
Attorney Yu Po-hsiang
Attorney Lin Chun-hung
Attorney Chu Ying-shan
Attorney Ho Chao-tung
Attorney Wang Lung-kuan
Attorney Hsueh Ch'in-feng
Attorney Tsai Hsiu-fang

Clients
Li Kuan-ling
Huang Kuo-yang
Ch'en Wei-ch'eng
Liu Chien-ming
Hsieh Sheng-yu
Wei Yang
Ch'en T'ing-hao
Liu Ching-wen

Press Contact

Li Ming-ju / Staff Attorney, Judicial Reform Foundation