Statement | First Remand Judgment in the March 23 Executive Yuan Occupation Defense Case: Incitement Charges Dismissed, Property-Destruction Convictions Upheld

Today (October 8), the Criminal Division of the Taiwan High Court delivered its judgment in the first remand proceedings arising from the March 23 occupation of the Executive Yuan. The court dismissed the prosecution on the incitement charges but upheld convictions for destroying property in the custody of public officials.

The Supreme Court had previously held oral argument and adopted a constitutionally narrow interpretation of the incitement offense in order to protect freedom of expression. That was an important and unusual effort. The Taiwan High Court did not continue that constitutional analysis on remand: by dismissing the incitement charges on procedural grounds, it never reached the substantive constitutional issues and missed a rare constitutional moment. The defense team respects the result as an exercise of independent adjudication but nevertheless regrets that outcome.

As to the charge of destroying property in the custody of public officials, the Taiwan High Court failed to give adequate weight to the defendants' exercise of freedom of assembly under Article 14 of the Constitution and freedom of expression under Article 11. J.Y. Interpretation No. 718 explains that freedom of assembly protects peaceful collective expression through which people communicate with society, shape or change public opinion, and influence and supervise the making of policy and law. Grounded in popular sovereignty, that freedom is a fundamental right essential to democratic government, deliberation, respect for difference, and the Constitution's pluralistic spirit.

The defendants acted under urgent circumstances in opposition to the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement then before the Legislative Yuan. Their conduct implicated both freedom of assembly and freedom of expression and was undertaken openly and nonviolently to defend the democratic constitutional order. The Supreme Court's remand reasoning recognized that the conduct could satisfy the requirements of civil disobedience and the right of resistance. The Taiwan High Court's judgment did not adequately engage with that analysis. The defense team will assist the defendants in appealing and will continue defending their rights and Taiwan's free and democratic constitutional order.

During the global COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan was able to restore its economic and legal order at comparatively low cost. Alongside the efforts of government and the public in controlling the pandemic, the defense team also reflected on the significance of the defendants' March 24 actions in blocking the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement and preserving greater distance between Taiwan's legal order and China's.

The defendants put their bodies on the line for their convictions on March 23 and 24, 2014. More than seven years later, they had endured not only state violence on the night itself but continuing litigation afterward. The price they paid for the belief that Taiwan's free development should not be constrained by another state deserves recognition. Democracy and freedom are never achieved in a single step. The defense team will continue to stand with the defendants so that the ideals behind their actions can be carried forward rather than suppressed.

Judgment Summary

Charged Offense	Name	First-Instance Judgment	Second-Instance Judgment	Supreme Court Judgment	Current Judgment
Destroying Property in the Custody of a Public Official	Li Kuan-Ling	Four months' imprisonment, commutable to a fine	Appeal dismissed	All judgments set aside and case remanded	Prior judgment upheld
	Hsu Shun-Chih	Four months' imprisonment, commutable to a fine	Two months' imprisonment for incitement, commutable to a fine; five months in aggregate together with the property-destruction offense		Prior judgment upheld
Inciting Others to Commit an Offense	Wei Yang	Acquitted	Four months' imprisonment, commutable to a fine		Prosecution dismissed
	Chen Ting-Hao	Acquitted	Four months' imprisonment, commutable to a fine		Prosecution dismissed
	Chiang Ping-Lun	Acquitted	Three months' imprisonment, commutable to a fine		Prosecution dismissed
	Liu Ching-Wen	Acquitted	Two months' imprisonment, commutable to a fine		Prosecution dismissed
	Lin Chien-Hsing	Acquitted	Three months' imprisonment, commutable to a fine		Prosecution dismissed
	Ko Ting-Yu	Acquitted	Two months' imprisonment, commutable to a fine		Prosecution dismissed

 

Related Materials

• Statement on the Second-Instance Judgment in the March 23 Executive Yuan Occupation Defense Case: 1 Acquitted, 16 Convicted
• Statement on the Supreme Court Judgment in the March 23 Executive Yuan Occupation Defense Case 

Press Contact

Attorney Li Ming-Ju / Staff Attorney, Judicial Reform Foundation - (02) 2523-1178 ext. 17