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Nov 5, 2008

More reports on undeclared martial law

Follow ups on the very scary incidents I reported yesterday. Nothing in English on the music store incident yet, I think, but here's a Liberty Times article. For the filmmaker, see the Taipei Times here:

The Association of Taiwan Journalists, which on Monday accused the government of restricting press freedom, yesterday lashed out again after one of its members was taken into police custody outside the Grand Hotel.

“I went to the Grand Hotel to visit a friend in the morning, after passing through two police checkpoints on the way with no problem,” said the independent documentary filmmaker, who asked to be identified only as “Miss Chen.”

After staying with her friend for around two hours, Miss Chen encountered a convoy of vehicles as she left the hotel.

“I suppose it was Chen Yunlin leaving the hotel — I’m not sure,” she said. “As a filmmaker, I always carry my video recorder with me, so I taped some footage.”

After the convoy had left, police officers surrounded her and asked to see her national ID card and the video she had recorded, she said.

She refused, but police continued to ask her to show her ID. They told her to turn off the video camera and tried to grab it from her, Miss Chen said.

“They told me that it was a restricted area and I could not videotape in the area — but no one told me so at the two police checkpoints on the road leading to the hotel, and there were many tourists taking pictures or videotaping,” Miss Chen told a news conference.

After her firm refusal to show her ID, the police forced her into a police car and took her to a nearby police station.

The police only allowed Miss Chen to leave when DPP Taipei City Councilor Chien Yu-yen (簡余晏) showed up.
And one I didn't hear about:
At least two verbal and physical clashes have occurred between local journalists and law enforcement personnel safeguarding Chen and other members of the ARATS delegation since they arrived on Monday.

Cheng Chieh-wen (鄭傑文), a photojournalist affiliated with the Central News Agency (CNA), was dragged away by national security agents at the Grand Hotel on Sunday while he was standing within the designated press area.

Yesterday, reporters engaged in verbal disputes with security officers over press areas that had been changed without prior notice.

“The ATJ strongly condemns security personnel for violently dragging and pushing reporters, and demands that the government explain such incidents and apologize to the CNA journalist,” the statement said.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

The Taipei Times has a small mention of the music store incident at http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/11/05/2003427794