Taiwan police use water cannon to retake government HQ

Riot police cleared thousands of protesters from Taiwan’s cabinet compound by firing water cannons and striking people with batons in clashes that began just after midnight and ended early this morning.

Bloodied protesters were dragged from the compound and scores were hospitalized after Taiwan Premier Jiang Yi-huah ordered the eviction. The demonstrators, who demanded the cancellation of a trade pact with China that the ruling Kuomintang party has advocated, overran the compound around 8 p.m. yesterday.

The occupation was the first time protesters have overtaken the Executive Yuan, where the cabinet has its offices. It was the second government building overrun this month in demonstrations sparked by Kuomintang efforts to push through passage of the pact that would open services trade with China. Students have held the legislative chamber since March 18.

Authorities are still calculating the number of injuries, arrests and the amount of damage caused by the demonstrations, cabinet spokesman Sun Lih-chyun said by telephone today.

Taiwan’s benchmark Taiex stock index fell 0.1 percent as of 10:26 a.m., after declining by as much as 0.8 percent. The Taiwan dollar strengthened 0.2 percent to NT$30.58 to the greenback as of 10:25 a.m., according to prices from Taipei Forex Inc.

Students charged into the building where Taiwan’s legislature meets last week, alleging the Kuomintang party was bypassing proper procedures as it sought passage of the services trade pact. They’ve called on President Ma Ying-jeou, who is also head of the ruling party, to apologize and to discuss the services trade deal.

Ma spoke yesterday in an attempt to assuage concerns about the trade pact. “Regional economic integration is an unstoppable global trend,” he said in a briefing broadcast live across Taiwan. “If we do not face this and join in the process, it will only be a matter of time before we are eliminated from the competition.”

Ma also rebuffed the student protesters’ demands, saying an earlier meeting Premier Jiang held with them wasn’t been productive. That further fanned anger. A separate group of protesters overran the cabinet complex after that briefing by climbing over fences and breaching barricades.

Leaders from the opposition Democratic Progressive Party joined protesters at the cabinet compound to show support and also urged restraint, local television footage showed. The best way to resolve the conflict is for the president to address the students’ criticism, the DPP said in a statement, rather than through a police eviction.

Military police were also summoned to bolster security at Ma’s presidential office and residence, according to CtiTV.

The services trade agreement, which was signed in June, sparked anger after ruling party lawmakers allegedly reneged on a promise to conduct a line-by-line review of provisions signed by trade negotiators from China and Taiwan. The Kuomintang has a majority of seats in the legislature. The opposition says it wants to amend provisions related to the banking and e-commerce industries, among others. -- Bloomberg