TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Members of a non-government organization were taken to a police station after writing the message, “Runaway Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜)” in front of New Taipei City Hall, in response to Hou being nominated as the Kuomintang’s (KMT) presidential candidate.
The action, organized by Alliance of Referendum for Taiwan (ART) was documented by its leader, Lo Yi (羅宜) in a livestreamed video shared on social media early Wednesday afternoon (May 17) — just before the KMT made the official announcement.
“Though the KMT Central Standing Committee has not yet convened, many KMT figures, including Terry Gou (郭台銘), have been congratulating Hou," Lo commented.
He said ART therefore decided to “wash the floor” at the entrance of the New Taipei City Hall as a “congratulatory gift,” making a jab at Hou for his plans to run a campaign midway through his mayoral term.
The issue has long been a source of the public’s criticism of the KMT. The party’s Chair Eric Chu (朱立倫) took time off his post to run for president during his term as the mayor of New Taipei City in 2015, while Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) ran for president during his term as the mayor of Kaohsiung in 2019.
Halfway through ART’s project, a police officer approached the group, telling them while they could volunteer to clean the sidewalk, they could not print words on public infrastructure. Nine more police officers were later called to the scene.
"Runaway Mayor Hou Yu-ih" "printed" on the sidewalk via a pressure washer. (Facebook, Alliance of Referendum for Taiwan screenshot)
The group was able to print the message several times on the sidewalk before police told them they would be taken to the police station. An officer accused them of not “obtaining permission” and “spraying things,” yet could not answer when Lo asked whose permission he needed and what he was spraying.
Lo asked if he was under arrest, and when the officer said no, he declared, “I am not willing to go with you. If you are not arresting me and unable to tell me which law I broke, I am going to leave, alright?”
After a lengthy discussion, the police came up with a law that ART broke: The Social Order Maintenance Act. They cited Article 90, which reads, “Any of the following behaviors shall be punishable by a fine of not more than NT$3,000 or a reprimand: 1. Staining and damaging another person’s house inscription, store sign, or other notices or signs. 2. Posting, smearing, painting, or engraving on another person’s transportation, wall, house, or other buildings without permission.”
ART members were taken to the Haishan police station for a statement. The police stressed that they were not under arrest. The group was released from the police station at 3:45 p.m.
In a statement, ART wrote, “We cannot understand why the KMT would play with the people like this, nor can we understand why the KMT’s campaign strategies are all based on sacrificing the people … Today, we merely exerted our citizen’s freedom of speech by washing the floor; we did not break the law, nor did we disturb anyone else.”
It accused the New Taipei City Police Department of abusing its power and limiting the freedom of citizens.
(Facebook, Alliance of Referendum for Taiwan video)