《TAIPEI TIMES》 Wu Sz-huai charged for role in protest clashes

PENSION REFORM: His speech was found to have incited protesters to clash with police as they sought to break into the Legislative Yuan, prosecutors said

/ Staff writer, with CNA

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Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） Legislator Wu Sz-huai （吳斯懷） and 12 others were yesterday charged for their roles in a 2018 demonstration against military pension cuts that turned violent, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said.

In the indictment, prosecutors say that Wu, then deputy head of a veterans’ group, and Wang Po-yun （王寶芸） of the Blue Sky Action Alliance encouraged violence when they spoke at a rally in front of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei on April 25, 2018.

Their speeches were found to have incited protesters to clash with police as people sought to break into the Legislative Yuan, they said.

The demonstration and violent clashes led to 32 police officers and 11 journalists being injured, an Executive Yuan statement said at the time.

Wu’s group, the “800 warriors,” had since February 2017 organized a series of protests over pension cuts, including camping outside the Legislative Yuan.

The 11 others were charged with obstructing officers in the execution of their duties and causing injuries, the prosecutors said.

In a statement, Wu called the indictment a distraction created by the Democratic Progressive Party as it pushes through the approval of former Presidential Office secretary-general Chen Chu （陳菊） as Control Yuan president.

Wu said that Chen was unfit for the post as her administration was censured and impeached by the Control Yuan several times during her time as Kaohsiung mayor.

He defended himself against the charges, saying that he always called for demonstrators to be peaceful and reasonable.

However, it was difficult to control the crowds when the protests involved various groups, he added.

It is regrettable that the prosecutors failed to act impartially, but he would undergo the judicial process in accordance with the law while continuing to protest against the current administration’s abuse of power, Wu said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES