High School Student Arrested for Asking Ma to Step down

Can any one recall the time that people still had the freedom to ask the former president Chen Shui-bian to step down, without the fear of getting arrested or questioned by the police ?

On March 3rd, a high school student was arrested immediately by the police for shouting "Ma Ying-jeou step down!" when Ma was in transition of his Taiwan High Speed Rail (HSR) ride through Chiayi (嘉義).

According to the Liberty Times (嗆「馬英九下台」高三生遭逮捕), the student was interrogated in the police station, which scared the student's mother to death. She asked the police for leniency. The police didn't release the student until some document was signed (confession of a crime?) and the student got finger-printed.

The police office at HSR Chiayi Station claims that the reason they "brought" the student in is to "persuade him to focus on study in order to be a good student". They also claim that they conducted "personal information investigation" for the safety of president.

It seems that the student was alone so he didn't violate the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), which requires a gathering of at least 3 people before the police can claim illegal.

He only voiced his protest so he was in no way exercising any violence.

It is obvious that he did not violate any law, and had no threat at all to the society or to Ma Ying-jeou.

But the police arrested him anyway. His family is scared and now he has a police record.

It is still in the first year of Ma's team but it seems that Ma has already imposed a fear factor into Taiwanese mind.

We have a long way to go before this nightmare could possibly over, guys -- 8 years in exact, as Ma often claims.