Taiwan Church News

3239 Edition

March 24 - March 30, 2014

Head Line News

Reported by Lin Yi-ying

From the dark night of March 23rd to the early morning of March 24th, the students protesting in Executive Yuan were finally brutally evicted by the superior police force. Many students and citizens were severely wounded or even blood-shed during this violent oppression from the government.

Regarding this serious result, Rev. Lyim Hong-tiong, General Secretary of Presbyterian Church Taiwan, expressed his deepest sorrow for the wounded people and strongest condemnation to the merciless state violence.

Rev. Lyim remarked, especially when the protesters pledged their stance as peace and non-violence, the police used to pull or separate the protesting audience one by one at most and then sent them away from the conflicting site. But, to everyone's astonishment, police's eviction that night employed the unprecedented brute force, water cannon, shields, batons ad sticks, to disperse the students and citizens who had not even a metal to do their self-defense.

Rev. Lyim lamented, having seen the bleeding students were brutally treated, kicked or stomped by the naked violence of the state, how cruel Ma Ying-jeou regime treats its innocent and peaceful young students!

Translated by Peter Wolfe