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Protesters occupy
government building
‘818 TEAR DOWN’: The sit-in followed a rally
that drew 20,000 demonstrators, took the police by surprise, lasting 20 hours,
before the protesters left to fight another day
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Protesters stage a sit-in at the
entrance of the Ministry of the Interior in Taipei yesterday, voicing opposition
to land seizures and forced demolitions in Miaoli County.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Hundreds of protesters yesterday evening
ended their 20-hour “occupation” of a government building in Taipei to protest
against a land seizure in Miaoli County and land expropriation across the
country, but vowed more occupation campaigns if the government failed to listen
to their demands.
“As the protest draws to a close now, it is, at the same time, only a beginning.
[The protest] serves as a warning to all government agencies, which betrayed
their responsibility to the people, that they should be ready for people’s
occupation at all times,” said Tsai Pei-hui (蔡培慧), spokesperson for the Taiwan
Rural Front, the protest’s main organizer.
While the Ministry of the Interior’s (MOI) response to the protesters’ four
demands was unacceptable, Tsai said a prolonged occupation would “fall into the
government’s trap” because President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration was
trying to wear the protesters out.
The protesters chose to paralyze the operation of the ministry because it was in
charge of land management affairs.
They demanded the MOI to apologize, compensate and return the lands to the four
households in Dapu Borough (大埔) in Miaoli County’s Jhunan Township (竹南), whose
houses were demolished on July 18, despite the government’s pledge to preserve
them. They also asked the government to probe potential corruption cases related
to land seizures and immediately amend the Land Expropriation Act (土地徵收條例).
Deputy Minister of the Interior Hsiao Chia-chi (蕭家淇) tried to break the deadlock
with a meeting with the protesters at 11am yesterday, but failed to make
substantial promises as he was whisked off by the crowds, who demanded to meet
with Minister of the Interior Lee Hung-yuan (李鴻源).
Lee did not come out to meet with them, but organizers decided to call off the
sit-in anyway, with Tsai saying the campaign was a relative success “because no
one has ever besieged a government building and paralyzed a ministry before.”
The sit-in, part of the protest titled “818 Tear down the government,” was a
follow-up to a night rally on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential
Office Building on Sunday evening. The rally, which organizers said drew about
20,000 participants, was held to commemorate the one-month anniversary of the
demolition of the four houses, torn down to make way for a science park project.
The peaceful rally ended at about 10pm on Sunday, before the protesters caught
the police by surprise as hundreds of demonstrators, who initially said they
would stage an overnight sit-in in front of the Executive Yuan, executed a
successful “ambush,” turning to the nearby Joint Central Government Building (JCGB)
complex that also houses some of the legislative rooms.
After a brief confrontation with a thin police line, the crowds entered the
complex and occupied both entrances of the South Tower of the JCGB, where they
began the overnight sit-in without interruption from the police deployed in and
around the building.
The protesters, consisting mostly of young people, raised a protest flag to
replace the national flag in front of the building and sprayed slogans on the
building walls and the pavement.
The police sent reinforcements yesterday morning, setting up blockades around
the South Tower and monitoring pedestrians. Public servants were able to enter
the North Tower and reach South Tower through an underground passage.
Supporters who could not make it to the sit-in tried to give the participants a
lift by sending water, instant noodles and pizzas to the site.
Commenting on the protest, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) criticized
the demonstrators for removing a national flag and replacing it with a protest
banner, calling the move “disrespectful, not just to the national flag, but also
to the Legislative Yuan.”
The legislature respects the protest and appreciates their demands, but people
should still respect the system and authority,” he said.
“What can they change by replacing a flag?” he added.
Additional reporting by CNA
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