Justices nix tests for street performersBy Wu Cheng-feng and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerOrdinances that require performers to pass tests before they can receive permits are unconstitutional, the Council of Grand Justices said yesterday in Constitutional Interpretation No. A street performer surnamed Chen (陳) in 2014 was issued five demerit points and banned from reapplying for a performers’ permit for a year after the Taipei City Government ruled that the number of people watching a performance of his had exceeded the maximum for the area he had applied to use, a breach of the now-defunct Regulations for Taipei Street Performers’ Performances. Photo: Wu Cheng-feng, Taipei TimesPeople are at liberty to choose their own profession and express themselves artistically, which has been infringed upon by city and county government demands that street performers pass a test before they obtain performance permits, Constitutional Interpretation No. While local governments should not be allowed to review the content of a street performer’s act, they can review the time, location, methods and other aspects apart from the performance, the council said. A local government must tender a draft ordinance that is approved by its council if it wishes to regulate performance times and locations, the Council of Grand Justices said.

Source: Taipei Times July 30, 2021 15:56 UTC