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※ 引述《kuaiphoto (.)》之銘言：
:    幹!! 台媒現在可說是不可信!!!
:    看看外媒駐台記者昨晚的觀察跟報導!!!!!
:    全文連結縮址 http://goo.gl/Ofp3Ei
:    Riot Police Crack Down on Taiwanese Protesters
:    J. Michael Cole reports from Tapei for The Diplomat.

感謝轉貼。以上是譯文。


Riot Police Crack Down on Taiwanese Protesters
鎮暴警察鎮壓台灣示威者

J. Michael Cole reports from Tapei for The Diplomat.
寇謐將自台北為外交雜誌報導

The standoff over a controversial trade agreement between Taiwan and China
that began on March 19 with the occupation of the legislature took a turn for
the worse on March 23 after riot police turned on protesters who had occupied
the nearby Executive Yuan, injuring several dozens.



Sunday night’s dramatic events occurred a day after an unsuccessful meeting
between Premier Jiang Yi-huah and Lin Fei-fan, one of the leaders of the “
sunflower revolution,” and following an international press conference by
President Ma Ying-jeou, who refused to meet the group’s demands. Since March
19, tens of thousands of Taiwanese have protested outside the legislature,
while about 300 — mostly students — remain shacked up inside the building.



The alliance against the services trade pact, an amalgam of student

organizations, lawyers, and civic organizations, had initially demanded that
the Cross-Strait Services Trade Agreement (CSSTA), signed in China in June
2013, be reviewed clause-by-clause by the legislature, that a mechanism be
set to monitor future agreements with China, and that President Ma apologize
for the crisis. It later changed its demands by requesting that the pact be
annulled altogether and calling for a national conference on the matter.



Many Taiwanese, including leading economists and politicians, fear that the
problematic pact, which was negotiated behind closed doors, will damage
vulnerable sectors of Taiwan’s economy. Others fear it plays into Beijing’s
unification goals. Although 70 percent of the public favors a line-by-line
review of the agreement, President Ma’s Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
broke a promise on March 19 (following deadlock in the legislature) to hold
such a review and sent it directly to a plenary session for a vote, sparking
the crisis (the KMT has a legislative majority and the Central Committee has
threatened any dissenter with suspension).



國民黨擁有立院的絕對多數，而其中央委員會威脅對任何反對票進行
停權處分。

With no sign of a resolution in sight, a group of protesters slipped past
security at the Executive Yuan, the seat of the Cabinet, at 7:35 p.m. on
March 23. Immediately the group inside the legislature distanced itself from
the action in a press release, though from the leadership on the ground it
was obvious that they belonged to the alliance. By 8:30 p.m., a few thousand
people were occupying the compound. Following a brief standoff with police,
protesters broke into the building through the main door or by climbing
ladders to upper windows. Aside from damage to the main doors and two broken
windows, there were no other signs of damage to the building. Several
thousand people also gathered on Zhongxiao Road in front of the building.



Although police authorities had not acted on orders to evict the activists
from the legislature — relations have in fact been rather cordial, with
protesters often applauding and thanking law enforcement — Sunday’s
occupation of the Executive Yuan was a major escalation, and soon there was
chatter that police would intervene. The Cabinet gave the order at 10:30 p.m.
and told police to do everything necessary to evict the occupiers by 11 p.m.
In response, the Democratic Front Against Cross Strait Trade In Services, one
of the groups orchestrating the occupation at the legislature, issued a press
release, in which it called on the authorities, “to not use violence to
suppress the protesters.” It also called on the government “to not release
emergency orders and to not mobilize the armed forces.”



As hundreds of police with shields and batons formed a line in front of the
Executive Yuan, an even larger contingent of riot police, flanked by
truck-mounted water cannons, faced off with protesters behind the building on
Beiping Road. At about midnight, the order was given to rid the area of
protesters. About 200 riot police, armed with shields and batons, descended
on the protesters as the latter were about to sit down and shouted “please
don’t use force against us.” At one side, a young woman, crying, called out
to her boyfriend who was among the protesters. Several black-clad riot police
swung their batons at young protesters, while police used their PVC shields
to hit sitting protesters on the legs. Several dozens of protesters were
eventually taken out — oftentimes shoved violently and dragged around —
 while police pushed out of the area. Protesters complained that the riot
police had masked their badge numbers. Journalists who identified themselves
as such and showed identification were also ordered to leave.



According to unconfirmed reports, as many as 50 protesters had sustained
injuries in clashes with police since the beginning of the occupation.

未經確實的報告指出，多達五十名抗議人士自從開始佔領的過程中和警
方衝突而受傷。

Meanwhile, at the main site of the Executive Yuan, political leaders from the
opposition, including Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su
Tseng-chang and Tsai Ing-wen, the party’s presidential candidate in 2012 and
a former chairperson, joined the group in a bid to prevent a police
crackdown. This did not prevent police from moving in. At 2 a.m., police
ordered media to leave the Executive Yuan, whereupon riot squads stormed the
building and evicted the several dozen protesters who were still inside.
Based on accounts by activists and the state of those who were taken out of
the building, riot police used excessive force to expel them. Several
protesters had head injuries and cuts. One woman, wearing a blazon from the
small opposition party Taiwan Solidarity Union, lay unconscious on the ground.



By then, about 600 riot police and several hundred more law-enforcement
officers were deployed at the Executive Yuan, while a few thousands
protesters remained. Clashes were still occurring at 4:30 a.m., with police
using water cannons and tear gas against protesters, who by then were
shouting slogans calling on Ma and Jiang to step down.



Although the decision to occupy the Executive Yuan — which did not seem to

be supported by everybody inside the legislature — may have undermined the
alliance’s image with the public, images of police brutality against
predominantly school-age protesters were likely to mitigate the initial
drawback and exacerbate public resentment with the administration.
Conversely, some critics observed that the alliance’s decision to change its
demand from a full review of the pact in the legislature to its annulment may
have closed the door on possible negotiations and forced a weakened Ma
administration into a corner.




（譯註：此翻訪只是為了促進版上資訊的散佈交流。如果此翻譯，或之
前的幾篇有侵權之嫌，請版主刪除）


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