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Protesters, police scuffle outside Legislative Yuan

Friday, 27 June 2014 08:20 Taipei Times

Protesters scuffle with police outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday as lawmakers were scheduled to review the draft bill on the free economic pilot zones.
Photo: CNA

Dozens of activists vaulted the front gate of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning in protest over the controversial free economic pilot zones draft bill being put on yesterday’s legislative agenda, but were dispersed by police, who handcuffed and arrested some of the demonstrators about an hour after they jumped the fence.

A group of about 30 people, representing at least five activist groups, including the Restoration of Taiwan Social Justice, the Wing of Radical Politics, the Alliance of Referendum for Taiwan and Democracy Kuroshio, climbed over the front gate before a plenary session that was scheduled to begin at 9am to protest against the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) placing the free economic pilot zones bill on the agenda and its alleged intention to ram it through.

Activists outraged over raid at hotel

Thursday, 26 June 2014 08:06 Taipei Times

Lin Fei-fan, center, and other student protesters yesterday clash with police outside the Novotel Hotel at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in Taoyuan County, where Mainland Affairs Council Minister Wang Yu-chi and China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun were meeting.
Photo: Chou Min-hung, Taipei Times

Activists yesterday accused the government of abuse of power after a group of “unidentified people” charged into their rooms at the Novotel in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and demanded that they move out before China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) was to meet his Taiwanese counterpart, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦), at the hotel.

Rights activist and attorney Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) condemned the government and Novotel over the hotel’s treatment of him as a guest.