In the pouring rain with a backdrop of pounding drums and blaring air-horns, DPP presidential candidate Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) called on a crowd of over 100,000 to come and help rewrite Taiwan's history on election day.
Standing on a huge stage with a three-story backdrop, Chen called on supporters to take their cue from Lee Yuan-tseh to help the DPP to successfully carry out a shift in power.
"Those who are standing beside Lien Chan and James Soong are gangsters and corrupt officials like Luo Fu-chu (羅福助), Yen Ching-piao (顏清標), Wu Tze-yuan (伍澤元), and Kuo Ting-tsai (郭廷才)," Chen said .
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING TAIPEI TIMES
Chen said that people like Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲), National Security Council advisor, Chen Pi-chao (陳必照), and leading businessmen like Nita Ing of the Taiwan High Speed Railway Corporation, Chi Mai president Hsu Wen-lung, and Acer CEO Stan Shih (施振榮) were willing to step in behind him.
These supporters have expressed a willingness to join Chen Shui-bian's National Policy Advisory Committee if he is elected.
"The KMT has been in power for 55 years and now elites in our society who have a good image and are eager to reform are here to help us," Chen said as rain continued to fall.
Chen said that corruption would never be eradicated if either independent candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) or KMT candidate Lien Chan (連戰) were elected.
On the stage with Chen were his running mate, Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), and DPP chairman Lin I-hsiung (林義雄) and his wife.
Former presidential candidate Peng Ming-min (彭明敏) was also on stage wearing an "A-bian" fishing cap along with Academia Sinica member Lee Chen-yuan (李鎮源).
Chen praised those who had stepped forward to support him, most notably Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh.
Supporters in the crowd were undaunted by the rain, waving flags and standing for the entire duration of the rally.
Chen dismissed his opponents claims that he would provoke China if elected.
Chen said he would not deliberately not press three related moves that might destabilize cross-strait relations.
"I would not push for an amendment to include the `two-state theory,' in the Constitution, nor would I push for a referendum on the issue of whether Taiwan should seek independence or re-unify with China," he said.
He also said that, in the current circumstances, it is not necessary to change Taiwan's official name of the Republic of China, adding that the move wouldn't take place unless China attacks Taiwan.
Chen called on all of his supporters to join together and make an historic choice: to change Taiwan's fate and root out corruption from politics.
"Four years ago Peng Ming-min (彭明敏) and Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) -- the DPP ticket in the 1996 election -- weren't able to see a transition in power and now we do have a chance and we will win," the DPP candidate told the crowd.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique