Clashes in Taichung

It was the first arrest and the most serious injury that occurred since a series of protests were launched Dec. 20 against a five-day visit by Chen, president of the Beijing-based Association for

Relations Across the Taiwan Straits. Pro-independence protestors have followed Chen around the clock, trying to make contact with him.

Chen arrived in the central Taiwan city Monday for the fourth round of cross-strait talks with his Taiwan counterpart, chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation. The talks concluded the previous day with three agreements inked.

Chen Chu-hsiang, a police officer sustained an injury to his forehead when he was pushed from a vehicle by protesters as he tried to stop them from launching firecrackers in the direction of the Windsor Hotel, said Yu Hui-mao, deputy director-general of Taichung City's Police Bureau.

Six protesters were detained after the incident and are still in custody on charges of endangering public safety, disrupting public service and assault, Yu said. The vehicle carrying the protesters was also seized, he added.

The firecrackers set off by the protesters, who were mostly from the political activist group “The Taiwan Republic Campaign,” posed a safety hazard for the hotel and the nearby area, Yu said.

An eye witness among the demonstrators told reporters that more than a dozen policemen jumped on the vehicle to go after the protesters and Chen accidentally fell off the truck onto the ground.

“No one pushed him. I have a video recording to prove that,” said a graduate student who wished to remain anonymous.

The police also videotaped the incident but the footage cannot be made public because the case is now under investigation by local prosecutors, Yu said.

“Our video footage shows that Chen was pushed from the vehicle,” he said.

Yu urged the protesters to express their views in a peaceful manner in order to avoid such incidents.

Chen is leaving Taichung today for a visit to the Sun Moon Lake, and will return to China on Friday.

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