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Updated Monday, December 8, 2008 9:26 am TWN, The China Post news staff



	Taiwan students make their way holding a banner and placards during a rally yesterday in Taipei. Thousands of people, mostly university students, marched in Taipei streets to demand that the government revise a law to limit the rights of police in using force to disperse demonstrators. (AP) Enlarge Photo

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Students end sit-in with demonstration

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- College students demanding the right to hold public demonstrations without restrictions decided to end their month-long sit-in after staging a march in Taipei yesterday.

With supporters and sympathizers joining their ranks, the students marched on the boulevard that link the Anti-Corruption Plaza, the Legislative Yuan, and the Executive Yuan (Cabinet) in the capital to protest the regulations that they say limit people's constitutional right to demonstrate freely.

The students, many in black shirts symbolizing impaired human rights, shouted slogans as they paraded past police and government buildings.

The existing regulations made it mandatory for people to get "permits" in advance when they want to hold large-scale public demonstrations.

The new rules proposed by the new government, which are still under consideration by the lawmakers, will require "no permits" from the authorities for such gatherings.

But the new rules require that organizers of protests "report" their plans to police so that preparations can be made to avoid traffic disruptions.

The students demanded that demonstrators be allowed to stage protests as they wish. They said the current law and the proposed new rules give police too much power to bar protests.

During yesterday's march, the group ignored police officers who held up signs ordering them to disperse for failing to obtain approval in accordance with the exiting rules.

Despite their issuing warnings, police made no attempt to block the students' march.

The students have been staging sit-ins for weeks to protest what they saw as heavy-handed police measures to limit protests during a Nov. 3-7 visit by mainland Chinese envoy, Chen Yunlin, to hold talks on cross-strait issues.

But the protests against Chen's visit ended in violent clashes between police and protesters, leaving more than 110 people injured after demonstrators started hurling stones and attempted to run down barricades.

The students have been demanding that Premier Liu Chao-shiuan make an apology and resign over the violence.

They agreed yesterday to halt the sit-in protests at the Liberty Square in the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Park.

Student leaders said they will pull out from the square and concentrate on working out new tactics to continue pushing their cause.

Other measures to be taken will include closer monitoring of debate on these issues by lawmakers in the Legislative Yuan.

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Comments

December 9, 2008 jessicathegreatoutdoors@

The used-to-be-popular slogan of "anti-corruption" chanted by DPP eight years ago that led to the election of Chen Sui-bian has now become the taboo of each rally held by DPP and its affiliates. The new slogan has changed into "human rights," used to justify the Chen’s criminal acts of graft, embezzlement and bribery. The most ridiculous scene is when DPP renamed its pro-Chen to "pro-human right" rallies, thinking it would rationalize its support for Chen. Well, a pig is a pig, with or without putting on lipstick.