Angry pan-blue supporters stormed the Central Election Commission (CEC) yesterday, but failed to prevent it from formally declaring the re-election of incumbent President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
The commission said it would use alternative means of making its announcement public after protesters ripped the declaration off the CEC bulletin board last night.
“This decision to announce the winner was not done through voting, but by a consensus. The announcement does not have to be posted on the commissions's bulletin board; it can also be announced in newspapers or through a media release,” a commission member said on condition of anonymity.
According to the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Election and Recall Law (總統副總統選舉罷免法), the commission had to hold a procedural meeting and
announce a winner within seven days after the election.
About 200 angry pan-blue protesters blocked the entrance area of the administration building where the commission was meeting. The protesters threw rocks and eggs and scuffled with helmeted riot police carrying shields.
“Truth unclear, suspend declaration,” the demonstrators shouted. “Down with the commission.”
A handful of KMT and People First Party (PFP) legislators also arrived at the scene to demand that the commission desist from declaring a winner in last Saturday's election before a decision on a recount is reached.
“You must be responsible for history,” one opposition lawmaker shouted outside the commission meeting room.
At around 4:30pm protesters managed to force their way through the lines of police, entered the building by smashing the glass doors and rushed to the floor where the commission's meeting was held.
By this time the 17 CEC members had already quietly left the building through an alternate exit.
“By posting the announcement, the commission is triggering a volcano that was already close to eruption,” said PFP legislator Lee Ching-hua (李慶華).
CEC Chairman George Huang (黃石城) left yesterday's meeting for a few minutes to listen to Lee and another PFP legislator, Feng Ting-kuo (馮定國), who expressed their concern about the posting of the announcement.
Around 7:00pm, guarded by police, commission members posted the announcement on the bulletin board, but it was immediately ripped off by angry protesters.
Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday announced that the police would arrest anyone breaking the law.
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
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
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
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