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Two men charged with
pelting Ma with objects
By Rich Chang / Staff reporter
Two men were indicted on charges of violating the Assembly and Parade Act
(集會遊行法) yesterday for allegedly throwing objects at President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九)
late last year.
The prosecutors alleged that a 72-year-old man surnamed Wang (王) and a
58-year-old man surnamed Lai (賴) threw a shoe and other objects at Ma while he
was giving a speech at the Jingmei Human Rights Memorial and Cultural Park in
New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) on Dec. 10 last year.
The objects were blocked by security personnel and nobody was hurt in the
incident.
According to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, Wang told prosecutors that
throwing a shoe indicated that he disagreed with Ma’s speech and the action
should be protected under freedom of speech.
Lai told prosecutors he did not target Ma, but the event’s organizers, when he
threw paper.
Prosecutors said the two’s actions went beyond freedom of expression and
indicted them.
In related developments, Taoyuan Confederation of Trade Unions chairman Mao
Chen-fei (毛振飛) was on Friday sentenced to 20 days in prison by the Taipei
District Court for leading protesters to throw eggs at the Presidential Office.
Mao was charged with violating the Assembly and Parade Act and his sentence
could be commuted to a fine, the court added.
On Oct. 20 last year, Mao and about 2,000 workers and labor rights activists
took part in a protest held at Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential
Office, throwing eggs while tussling with police as they protested against low
wages, unfair labor policies, rising prices and a growing labor insurance
deficit.
Mao said the sentence was lighter than he had expected, but that he would appeal
the ruling.
“If I were convicted in the final ruling, I would choose jail rather than
commute the jail term to a fine,” he said.
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