Dozens injured as Taiwan riot police use batons and water cannon to clear student protesters from parliament
PUBLISHED : Monday, 24 March, 2014, 5:02am
UPDATED : Monday, 24 March, 2014, 12:03pm
Lawrence Chung in Taipei and wire [email protected]
Taiwan's riot police clash with demonstrators as they try to clear the government cabinet buildings in Taipei. Photo: AP
Baton-wielding riot police cleared Taiwan’s Cabinet offices of scores of angry protesters opposed to a trade pact with China on Monday, in a sharp escalation of roiling tensions against the island’s rapidly developing ties with the communist mainland.
Dozens were injured as police used batons and water cannon against the students, after President Ma Ying-jeou failed to soothe public anger at his administration's handling of a free-trade pact with the mainland. Authorities said 58 protesters were arrested.
Yesterday up to 100 students broke into the Executive Yuan Council, with some finding what they thought was the office of Premier Jiang Yi-huah and reportedly seizing documents and computer files.
Taiwanese students protesting against a China Taiwan trade pact are sprayed with a water cannon while storming the government Cabinet offices. Photo: AP
Students outside the building chanted "We want real democracy", and "Retract the services trade pact", as they were surrounded by 500 riot police armed with shields and batons.
Late last night bloody scenes erupted as 1,000 police officers moved in to clear the protesters.
Clashes broke out when police tried to remove the protesters from the building and the surrounding compound, with many lying on the ground with their hands linked in an effort to thwart police.
Riot officers used riot shields to push the crowds back while some demonstrators tried to grab their batons and pelted them with plastic bottles.
Two water cannon trucks were then deployed, eventually subduing the crowd before the building was cleared.
The occupation of the Cabinet offices marked a sharp escalation in tactics by a mostly student-led protest movement that now appears to be showing signs of a split between anti-government militants and a main group seeking dialogue with President Ma Ying-jeou on the China trade pact.
Protesters scuffle with police officers outside the Executive Yuan during a demonstration in Taipei. Photo: AFP
Taiwanese student demonstrators are removed by police after storming the government cabinet offices in Taipei. Photo: AP
Tensions first exploded into the open six days ago when around 200 demonstrators, mostly young students, broke through security barriers and took over parliament’s main chamber, the first such occupation of the building in the island’s history.
President Ma Ying-jeou denounced the “illegal” occupation of parliament by students opposed to the trade agreement’s ratification.
Local TVBS news network showed protesters pulling down barbed wire barricades surrounding the government building, with some using ladders to break into offices on the second floor of the building. The network showed clashes between protesters and police holding shields, as well as an injured male protester lying on the ground being attended to by medical personnel.
In his first press conference since the occupation began, Ma on Sunday called on the protesters to leave the chamber. He said the pact was vital to Taiwan's economy and he condemned the occupation as illegal.
The agreement would open up as many as 80 services industries, including banking, hospitals and e-commerce companies to markets and competition.
"I perfectly understand the students' concern about national affairs," Ma said. "But they should never have resorted to illegal means."
Ma cancelled all public activities scheduled for Monday and will meet senior officials to assess the impact of the protest.
Taiwanese protesters are forced by riot police to leave the government cabinet buildings in Taipei. Photo: AP
A Jiang spokesman said: "Such a violation of law is unacceptable and for this the premier has ordered that the National Police Administration increase the police force to dispel them."
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin also asked Taipei police to restore order. Police authorities were reported to have mobilised 3,000 officers, and riot police began to remove demonstrators after midnight. At least 20 students were detained.
While political protests in Taiwan are common, violent confrontations between demonstrators and police are relatively rare, reflecting the high level of civil discourse that has taken hold of Taiwanese society since the island completed an impressive transition from one-party dictatorship to robust democracy in the mid-1990s.
Student protesters occupy the Executive Yuan in Taipei. Photo: AFP
Taiwanese student protesters against a trade pact with Beijing try to intimidate police after storming the government Cabinet buildings in Taipei. Photo: AP
A student guards the entrance of the Executive Yuan during a demonstration in Taipei. Photo: AFP
