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Police mobilize for cross-strait talks
¡¥OPERATION CHI HSIN¡¦:Thousands of police will keep a close
eye on ARATS Chairman Chen Yunlin, which the DPP said showed a lack of faith in
Taiwan¡¦s democracy
By Vincent Y. Chao / Staff Reporter, with CNA
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Police patrol the area around Grand Hotel in
Taipei yesterday ahead of the sixth round of talks between Straits Exchange
Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung and Association for Relations Across the
Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin.
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUEI, TAIPEI TIMES
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday stepped up its criticism over
security arrangements for today¡¦s high--profile meeting between cross-strait
envoys, labeling the heavy police presence a form of ¡§appeasement¡¨ toward
Beijing.
About 2,000 police officers are expected to be deployed in parts of Taipei over
the next two days to provide security for Association for Relations Across the
Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (³¯¶³ªL), the National Police Agency (NPA)
said last week.
Chen will be on a three-day visit with Taipei-based Straits Exchange Foundation
Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (¦¿¤þ©[).
The Liberty Times (the Taipei Times¡¦ sister newspaper) said an estimated 1,150
police officers from the Taipei City Police Department, with backup from the
Aviation Police Office and the National Highway Police Bureau, were expected to
comprise the bulk of the police task force.
During a press conference yesterday, DPP spokesperson Cheng Wen-tsang (¾G¤åÀé)
described the heavy police presence as a move that would stifle opposing voices
and send the signal that the government lacked confidence in Taiwan¡¦s liberties
and democratic values.
¡§They are fulfilling Beijing¡¦s -requests to appease China,¡¨ Cheng said.
The police action, known internally as ¡§Operation Chi Hsin,¡¨ will also involve
plainclothes police monitoring Chen¡¦s public appearances, including the 40km
route his motorcade is expected to take as it heads from Taiwan Taoyuan
International Airport to the Grand Hotel, where he will be staying.
Police squads will also be deployed to areas surrounding the hotel as well as
another undisclosed hotel near Miramar Entertainment Park, where Chen is
expected to meet Mainland Affairs Council Chairperson Lai Shin-yuan (¿à©¯´D) today,
the Liberty Times wrote.
Chinese officials, led by -ARATS Deputy Chairman Zheng Lizhong (¾G¥ß¤¤), arrived in
Taiwan yesterday to oversee final security preparations and confirm Chen¡¦s
itinerary.
The NPA, reportedly concerned about protests by pro--independence organizations,
said it intended to increase the use of video recorders to avoid controversy.
Police officers were accused of confiscating Republic of China national flags
and brutally cracking down on protesters during a previous round of meetings in
Taipei between the two envoys in November 2008. Light clashes with police also
took place during another round of talks in Taichung in December last year.
While the DPP said on -Wednesday it had no plans to launch popular protests this
week, some pro-independence groups have said they would hold sit-ins and other
forms of non-violent -protest around the meeting venue.
¡§We are taking to the streets to express our views that Taiwan and China are two
different countries and [that we] oppose the secret negotiations between the two
sides,¡¨ said Tsai Ting-kuei (½²¤B¶Q), a -National Taiwan University professor who
heads the Taiwan Referendum Alliance.
Cheng said the protests should be protected by the law. They are an example of a
spontaneous -public -reaction, he said, adding that such protests would not be
out of place in other countries.
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