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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PUBLIC STATEMENT

AI Index No: ASA 38/001/2008
3 December 2008


Amnesty International has urged Taiwan's police force to comply with international guidelines on the use of force and crowd control at the planned student protests on Sunday 7 December.

The organization also joins calls for the Control Yuan, the body mandated by the Taiwan Constitution with supervisory power over the Executive branch, to conduct an independent inquiry into alleged excessive police force during November's protests.

The Wild Strawberry Student Movement has staged sit-ins since 6 November to protest against what they consider the use of excessive force during the Taiwan visit of Chen Yunlin, chairman of the China-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait. Civil society groups in Taiwan are investigating multiple claims that individuals suffered head injuries and broken fingers at the hands of police during the protests.

According to police reports on 8 November, approximately 10,000 police officers had been deployed during Chen's visit; 149 police officers and 200-300 individuals were injured; 18 were arrested.

Taiwanese civil society groups claim that police have applied the Assembly and Parade Law arbitrarily to silence dissent. According to the students' spokesperson, they will not seek police approval, as required by the law, but will only "report" their plans to law enforcement authorities, in line with amendments advocated by the Movement.

The Movement is organizing the protest on Sunday 7 December to criticize the government's failure to amend the Assembly and Parade Law.

Amnesty International said Taiwan's Control Yuan should address the serious concerns raised by civil society in Taiwan and the government should cease the practice of using the Assembly and Parade Law to deny freedom of assembly and allow individuals to protest peacefully. Amnesty International also called on Taiwanese police and judicial authorities to ensure that they investigate any protesters accused of engaging in violence in a fair, transparent, and timely manner in compliance with international standards.

Background
On 3-7 November 2008, Chen Yunlin, chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, led a 60-member delegation from the People's Republic of China to visit Taiwan and meet with President Ma Ying-jeou.

The police barred protesters displaying Taiwanese and Tibetan flags and anti-China slogans along the routes taken by the envoy and confiscated or damaged some of these items. The police also closed a shop near the hotel where Chen Yunlin had dinner with Kuomintang honorary chairman Lien Chan when the shop loudly broadcast music from an album titled 'Songs of Taiwan'.

There were additional reports of arbitrary detention and police brutality, some of which, according to the police, were in response to the violence of protesters.

Following the visit, hundreds of students have staged sit-ins across Taiwan protesting the police's handling of the protests and demanding amendments to the Assembly and Parade Law, which has been misused to prevent protests.

On 6 November the students started their sit-ins outside the offices of the Executive Yuan or (Executive branch), where they were eventually removed by police on the grounds of illegal assembly. They continued the sit-ins at the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall and organized a daily demonstration calling for immediate amendments to the Assembly and Parade Law, apologies from the president and head of government and the resignations of the heads of the police and national security.

On 18 November Taipei police announced a list of 66 "troublemakers", who had allegedly thrown gas bombs and stones at the police and spat at the Taichung mayor. There were also reports that the police had pressured journalists and their supervisors to hand over video tapes to identify suspects who allegedly took part in the violence.

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Public Document

For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 or email: [email protected]
International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW, UK
www.amnesty.org
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集遊法改報備制 限縮命令解散權

<label></label> 更新日期:<q>2008/12/05 04:34</q> 江慧真／台北報導
行 政院四日院會通過《集會遊行法》修正草案，將現行許可制改為報備制。立院若審議通過，集遊法將取消行政刑罰規定，回歸普通刑法；警察命令解散權也大幅限 縮，只有在「使用暴力、違反安全距離、阻礙交通」三原則下才可行使。遊行活動必須在重要機關周邊三百公尺的安全距離限制，也將鬆綁範圍。
現行《集遊法》規定，室外集會、遊行應於六日前向主管機關申請許可，政院版順應民意，修正為「應五日前向主管機關報備」，且若有突發的「不可預見之重大緊急事故」，必須立刻舉行，否則無法達到目的者，則不在此限。
內政部次長簡太郎說明，這次修法的重點，在於刪除現行條文第四條，集會遊行不得主張「共產主義」或「分裂國土」的規定，以落實表現自由。此外，警察的命令解散權，明確限縮在「使用暴力、違反安全距離、壅塞交通」的情形，且警察須在警告、制止無效時，才能命令解散。
他 強調，此次修法強化集會遊行的「自律規範」，要求集會、遊行負責人應在集會、遊行時「親自在場主持」及維持秩序，並應指定糾察員協助維持秩序。簡太郎說， 對於妨害集會、遊行者，負責人或糾察員可以排除，受排除的人應立即離開現場，若拒絕離開，負責人依法律授權，可以請求現場警察指揮官協助驅離。



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集遊改報備 違規要罰錢

<label></label> 更新日期:<q>2008/12/05 07:40</q> 記者李順德、湯雅雯／台北報導
行政院院會昨天通過集會遊行法修正草案，行政院說，修法的重點是，將室外集會遊行由「申請許可制」改為「報備制」，刪除刑罰規定，對負責人違法改依行政罰鍰，有暴力行為由刑法規範。
不過，新法中仍規定，若主管機關認為「足以立即危害國家安全或社會秩序的明顯事實」，或「足以認為有立即危害生命、身體、自由或財物造成重大損害的明顯事實」等情況，得禁止、於必要範圍內限制或變更路線、場所、時間等，此一規定讓集遊法仍然保留有「許可制」的實質權力。
持續在自由廣場抗議的野草莓學生表示，此草案乍看下符合報備原則，但仔細看都是在玩文字遊戲，「換湯不換藥」，周日遊行將如期舉行。
內政部次長簡太郎說，集會遊行者須在室外集會，由負責人在遊行的五日前向主管機關提出報備書，但如果有「不可預見的重大緊急事故，且非即刻舉行無法達到目的」者，不在此限。
另外，總統府、軍事堡壘等禁制區內不得集會遊行的規定，改以畫定公告的「安全距離」取代，並刪除現行條文第四條「集會遊行不得主張共產主義或分裂國土」的規定，以落實言論自由。
簡太郎表示，修法重點著眼於保護集會遊行者的權利，讓想說的話都能傳達給想傳達的人，警察的命令解散權雖仍維持，但明確限縮在使用暴力、違反安全距離及壅塞交通的情形，而且警察須在警告、制止無效時，才能命令解散。
法中規定，內政部會同有關機關畫定「安全距離」，但畫定原則是「應於維護機關、地區正常運作及安全秩序之必要」。過去軍事堡壘安全距離為三百公尺，外交部、各國駐華領使館為五十公尺，未來如何畫定，簡太郎說，會依這些地點的地形地貌來畫定衡量。
據了解，內政部的版本原在六日前提出報備書，後來經協調改為五日前應提出，原版本警方在收到報備書後，應在三天內做成書面行政處分，通知集會遊行負責人，經協調後也改為於三十六小時內，作成書面處分，避免同一個地點有兩個以上集會遊行團體。
由於這次修法去刑罰化，現行集會遊行，經命令解散而仍不解散，負責人原可處二年以下有期徒刑或拘役，改為處五萬以上，十五萬元以下罰鍰，該報備而未報備，負責人處五萬元罰鍰。


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國際特赦組織 籲台灣警察勿濫用暴力

<label></label> 更新日期:<q>2008/12/05 04:09</q>
〔記者陳宣瑜、黃敦硯／台北報導〕在野草莓一二○七大遊行前夕，國際特赦組織（ＡＩ）在日前發文公開聲明，敦促台灣警方，大遊行當天的警力運用和群眾管制應遵守國際標準。
促允許人民和平抗爭
國際特赦組織聲明也指出，「野草莓學生運動」認為警方在處理陳雲林訪台期間的群眾抗議活動，過度使用暴力，因此從十一月六日起發動靜坐抗議至今，台灣的公民社會團體也在進行調查，民眾在抗議過程中遭警察打傷頭部和折斷手指等事件。
國際特赦組織同時呼籲，監察院應正視台灣公民團體所提出的嚴重關切，應停止利用集遊法箝制人民的集會自由，並應允許人民以和平方式從事抗議行動。
（中文原文：http://www.amnesty.tw/?p=597；英文原文：http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?lang=e&id=ENGASA380012008）
警政署強調依法行政
對於國際特赦組織的要求，警政署表示，警察作為一向秉持依法行政的原則，保障合法、取締非法、制裁暴力的態度不變，至於野草莓學運的遊行地點與路線，是在台北市警察局轄內，相信轄區分局與警察局會做最妥適的處理。
野草莓學運表示，週日的「一二○七野給你看」野草莓全台串連大遊行，預計中午十二點在自由廣場集結，下午一點出發沿著中山南路，步行到立法院、行政院，再到總統府前，野草莓會將棺材運到凱道上，進行「人權出殯」儀式，結束後回到自由廣場舉辦晚會，有地下樂團表演，還有各地野草莓代表上台暢談未來展望。
野草莓發言人奉君山表示，到目前為止統計，大約已有近千位學生、社運團體及老師會來參加遊行，他強調，參加遊行者請身著黑色上衣。另外，為避免模糊遊行訴求，參加者請勿身著或攜帶有政黨標誌、口號物品。
野草莓也表示，一二○七大遊行不會依照現行集遊法向警方申請遊行許可，但會根據學生所主張的修法原則向警方「報備」。
野草莓表示，從國際特赦組織的聲明看出，他們對台灣政府警察處理抗議行動的行為充滿疑慮，提前呼籲政府不要使用過當的警力，來保護學生。
野草莓重申，十二月七日的大遊行，三項訴求並未改變，總統馬英九及行政院長劉兆玄道歉、警政署長王卓鈞與國安局長蔡朝明下台，修改集遊法為自願報備制。


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