Taipei tells police to take ‘soft stance’ on students

By Alison Hsiao  /  Staff reporter

Police warn protesters not to break the law as they break through the barricades in front of the Ministry of Education building yesterday.

Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times

The Taipei City Government has directed police to take a “soft stance” when facing protesting students, who vaulted the barricades set up around the Ministry of Education early yesterday morning, resulting in a standoff between police stationed around the main building and the protesting students, who have been occupying the ministry’s plaza.

At press time last night, the sit-in was ongoing. Their bringing down the barbed barricade was “monitored” closely, but not stopped by police officers from Zhongzheng First Precinct at about 1:30am yesterday.

That the restrained attitude was taken due to the city government’s orders was confirmed by Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday, who said the city government directed the police to take “a soft approach,” as both the police and the students are human beings who were not able to sleep the night before and the real problem should be solved by the ministry.

The police were seen guarding the entrances to the ministry’s main building and holding up a banner that said the protesters’ actions have breached the law at least four times throughout the night, but they did not evict or arrest the students.

Another new measure taken by the city government was the deployment of “media liaison” officers.

At least three people wearing pink and partly fluorescent vests with “media liaison of the Taipei City Government Police Department” imprinted on them were seen yesterday outside the ministry building.

The move was taken by the city government after the arrests of three reporters and dozens of students on Thursday night last week and Ko’s subsequent apology for police failing to follow “standard operating procedures.”

One of the officers said that deploying media liaison officers to large gatherings that are prone to violations of the law is not new, but the officers were not as easily identified before.

When questioned by reporters about the deployment, the number of police officers present and whether the students would be evicted, the officers were unable to provide answers.