Po-han Wu was searched then held in a police van for over an hour
Taiwan News
Date: 2019/04/09
By: Ryan Drillsma, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
Police told Wu he could not protest on that day (Bryant Wu/Facebook)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taiwanese exchange student in Paris was briefly detained by police for waving an independence banner during Xi Jinping’s recent procession through the European capital.
Sciences Po student Po-han Wu (吳柏翰) on March 27 uploaded a video to Facebook that shows him unfurling a pro-independence flag before being immediately accosted by a police officer, who tackles the flag away from him. The beginning of Xi’s motorcade can be seen in the background.
Wu told independent French media outlet The Observers that he was forced against a wall and searched before being held in a police van for over an hour. The officers told Wu that while on an ordinary day people can demonstrate freely in the city, instructions had been given from higher up to suppress any protests on that particular day.
Wu said the officers returned his passport and student card but refused to give back his banner. [FULL STORY]
