Principal Calls Cops on Student Protestors
[cover picture: Liberty Times Network]
School administrators at a high school in Taipei City called police after students unfurled banners and cut off the microphone while the principal was making a speech at a 70th anniversary event on Sunday, April 9.
Police declined to press charges, and the Ministry of Education said that calling police to the campus was inappropriate. The ministry said that school administrators should communicate with the student offenders and use the incident as an opportunity to educate the students.
Administrators at the Taiwan Normal University High School said that staff were unable to open the door to restore power, as a lock had been damaged. They cited campus safety concerns as justification for calling police.
Two students broke into a room behind the outdoor podium, and cut off the power while the principal was making a speech. Power was cut off for about 10 minutes. Then, while the school song was being sung, the two students unfurled banners from the roof of the podium. The banners referred to ‘rampant school administrators’ and the ‘inextinguishable soul of the school.’
The banners were taken down after about 10 seconds, but in the meantime many pictures were taken by students and attendees, and shared on social media.
Police including forensics investigators arrived at the scene. School Secretary Chen, Lingling denied rumors that a student had been taken away by police. Chen said parents were called first, and students were interviewed in the presence of their parents. No arrests were made, and the students returned to the celebration event after questioning.
Humanistic Education Foundation Chief Executive Feng Qiaolan (馮喬蘭) said the school’s police action just showed the reasonableness of the protests.
Compiled from various reports including Liberty Times Network.
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