|
‘White Roses’ slam
government inertia
EXPOSED FOSSILS: The movement accused the
authorities for taking action only when compelled to do so, after the release on
bail of a suspected rapist last week was criticized
By Rich Chang / Staff Reporter, with Staff Writer
Hsieh Tung-hsien is brought in
for questioning at the Banciao District Prosecutors’ Office in New Taipei City
yesterday.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
The “White Rose” movement yesterday
accused the government of arresting and jailing people only after public
protests force it to do so, comments that came in the wake of the arrest of a
taxi driver suspected of sexually assaulting a Japanese exchange student last
week.
Hsieh Tung-hsien (謝東憲) was charged with rape and fled his apartment after being
released on bail last week. Police arrested him near a cemetery in Tucheng
District (土城), New Taipei City (新北市), at 11am yesterday, where he was allegedly
waiting for a friend he had contacted to lend him money for his escape.
Hsieh was ordered detained at 2pm by the Banciao District Court.
Investigators said the exchange student was allegedly raped on Monday last week
by Hsieh, who had offered her a ride after she got lost looking for her
boyfriend’s apartment in a remote area of Tucheng District.
Police arrested him the next day and he admitted to having sex with the woman,
but denied the rape charge, saying it was a one-night stand.
Despite his arrest on charges of sexual assault, Banciao District Court judge Lu
Chun-chieh (盧軍傑) on Wednesday ordered Hsieh released on NT$50,000 bail, sparking
outrage among netizens, who started a “Petition for the dismissal of the judge
[who approved the bail]” on Facebook, which garnered more than 180,000 online
fans.
While the Banciao District Prosecutors’ Office successfully appealed his release
with the Taiwan High Court on Friday, Hsieh had by that time jumped bail and
police were unable to locate him until yesterday.
Eva, the spokeswoman for the White Rose movement, an organization created in
August last year after several cases of child molestation resulted in judgements
that were largely seen as slaps on the wrist, said that as many as 74 people
across Taiwan were high-risk repeat sexual offenders, with 200 more who were
considered at medium-to-high risk of committing rape.
However, the government refuses to release information about those potential
threats to society, which puts women at unnecessary risk, Eva said, adding that
the White Rose movement would take to the streets at the end of this month.
The rally will take place on July 31 in front of the Presidential Office on
Ketagalan Boulevard, she said.
The date coincides with the opening of the gates of the dead, the beginning of
“Ghost Month” according to the lunar calendar, Eva said.
Some netizens said the “good brothers and sisters [ghosts]” would also take to
the streets in protest and eliminate the “bad ghosts” that might again commit
rape.
“How long must we wait before the government takes this problem seriously?” Eva
asked, adding that although the public always made clear their anger at the
erroneous judgements of so-called “dinosaur judges,” a similar event would
likely happen again somewhere down the line.
WITH TRANSLATION BY JAKE CHUNG, STAFF WRITER
|
