At the Executive Yuan public security meeting today, Premier Jiang Yi-huah reiterated the government's determination to maintain social order while safeguarding citizens' rights and interests.
"As Taiwan is a democratic country, the government will definitely protect citizens' rights to legal assemblies and demonstrations under the framework of the ROC Constitution and the rule of law," said the premier. "However, the government will also stand firm in enforcing the law to crack down on deliberate law-breaking confrontational movements threatening to derail social stability. We will strive to maintain public order and safeguard citizens' rights and interests to prevent people from losing confidence in the government's authority, which would result in serious consequences."
After hearing the Ministry of the Interior's report on responses to current mass movements, Premier Jiang noted that the mobilization momentum, behavior pattern and value system of recent mass movements are obviously different from those of previous generations. "How to effectively handle such new-pattern mass movements to maintain public order will become a big challenge for security units," he said.
During recent protests against the Cross-Strait Agreement on Trade in Services and the construction of the Longmen Nuclear Power Plant, people laid siege to police stations, occupied main traffic arteries, obstructed the passage of lawmakers and officials, damaged vehicles and posted letters on the Internet calling for paralyzing Taipei's mass rapid transit system. "From the perspective of safeguarding public authority, these illegal behaviors are worrying," said Jiang.
The National Police Agency (NPA) has sought better methods of law enforcement in operations to handle street demonstrations, Jiang said. Since it is the local authorities that would directly handle people's assembly and parade, he asked the NPA to guide and assist local police departments in promptly exercising public authority to eliminate significant unlawful and disorderly conduct. Also, prosecutorial and police authorities must take necessary judicial means to uphold the country's rule of law and restore social order.
Meanwhile, the public has recently scrutinized law enforcement methods at recent protests and even doubted the moral authority of the police or distorted facts to hurt its image, Jiang said. He asked the NPA to remind front-line police staff to handle lawbreakers legally and avoid excessive, unlawful force so as not to damage the people's trust in the public authorities.
In addition, law enforcement departments must quickly clarify any unfounded accusations and media coverage, or else the public might be misled and feel sympathy for illegal demonstrations, the premier said. He also asked the NPA to improve and train police personnel's tactics during their routine preparatory work so they can better handle protests.
Jiang then expressed gratitude for the police's hard work. With the recent rise in public protests, there have been 89,000 dispatches of individual police officers to Taipei City from other cities and counties to maintain public order (note: for this figure each dispatch of the same person is counted separately). The premier also said he like many others was especially saddened to hear news this morning about an officer that passed away due to stress from the frequent law enforcement operations in Taipei City's protests.
Jiang urged the NPA and other law enforcement departments to look after their staff and support and encourage them for their hard work. Lastly, he encouraged all ministries and government agencies at today's meeting to work together through tough times to demonstrate the government's unwavering stance in maintaining social order.