323 Executive Yuan Eviction Compensation Claim

After the 318 Sunflower Student Movement against the cross-strait trade agreement had lasted for 5 days, President Ma Ying-jeou finally held a press conference on March 23. However, rather than positively responding to the activists' demands, he reiterated the importance of the trade agreement and emphasized that the students were illegally occupying the Legislative Yuan.

Disappointed and outraged by the President's failure to address their demands, citizens dissatisfied with Ma Ying-jeou's response climbed over barbed-wire barricades into the Executive Yuan on the night of March 23, after which the plazas surrounding the Executive Yuan were occupied by thousands of people.

Upon learning that citizens had occupied the Executive Yuan, then-Premier Chiang Yi-huah instructed the police to clear the Executive Yuan before business hours in the morning. In the early morning hours of March 24, the police carried out multiple waves of forced eviction operations, leaving many citizens injured due to the police's brutal eviction tactics. According to statistics from the Department of Health, Taipei City Government, over a hundred citizens were injured and sought medical treatment during the eviction incident. Among them, a total of 31 plaintiffs filed claims for state compensation against the Executive Yuan, the National Police Agency, the Taipei City Government, and the Taipei City Police Department with the assistance of the pro bono lawyers platform.

Case Overview

Among the state compensation claims, Lin Ming-hui, a junior high school teacher, took the lead in filing an administrative lawsuit. Subsequently, 30 other injured plaintiffs followed suit by filing requests for state compensation settlement, assisted by 15 lawyers from the pro bono lawyers platform. A brief overview of the cases is as follows:

1. Lin Ming-hui Administrative Lawsuit Case

   On the night of March 23, Lin Ming-hui, a junior high school teacher, saw news of citizens storming the Executive Yuan and decided to travel north from Taichung to participate. Upon arriving at the Executive Yuan, Lin Ming-hui joined citizens in a sit-in inside the rear courtyard.

   After the eviction operation began, Lin Ming-hui was beaten on the head by a police officer using a metal baton, causing Lin Ming-hui to suffer a bleeding head wound. Because the footage of the police violence was clearly captured by news media, it became the most favorable evidence for the subsequent litigation.

   An application for preservation of evidence was filed in this case on April 3, 2014, and a formal lawsuit was filed on April 23 of the same year. On August 7, 2015, the Taipei District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, ordering the Taipei City Government to pay NT$300,000 in mental distress compensation. Subsequently, the Taipei City Government waived its right to appeal, and the case was finalized.

2. Other State Compensation Cases

   Following the victory in Lin Ming-hui's compensation case, the pro bono legal team relied on this judgment to file requests for state compensation settlement with the Taipei City Government and the Taipei City Police Department on behalf of the other 30 plaintiffs. Regrettably, the Taipei City Police Department officially responded with a written rejection on December 11, and the pro bono legal team decided to file state compensation lawsuits within the statutory period.