Pan-blue camp keeps up defiance

Leaders of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-People First Party (PFP) alliance didn't let Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) inauguration yesterday stop them from challenging his legitimacy as president in a protest rally at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.

Claiming that the presidential election was unjust, KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰), against the backdrop of a billboard that read "Taiwan, we continue to move forward," said the gathering on Ketagalan Boulevard for Chen's presidential inauguration was "unblessed, disrespected and lacking legitimacy."

Lien told supporters that his appeals were not self-serving but were out of concern for the nation's democratization.

"What we care about here is not wining or losing, but about right and wrong," said Lien, who delivered his speech at roughly the same time as Chen's inaugural address.

In line with his announcement on Wednesday that he is pushing for a merger with the PFP, Lien pledged that he would work to integrate the opposition camp, including the New Party and independents, "as one big family."

"Only when we are united can we constitute a substantial balancing and supervisory power ... and deepen, consolidate and develop Taiwan's democracy," Lien told the thousands of people gathered at the rally. "Let's start a new democratic movement that is centrist, rational, tolerant and diverse."

Accusing Chen and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of manipulating and provoking ethnic issues during their past four years in power, Lien said Chen's DPP administration had become an autocracy.

"Chen is a racist, not qualified to lead a non-fascist Taiwan," he said.

Lien said the KMT-PFP alliance will push for an ethnic fairness law as part of its plans to amend the Constitution.

Like PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) who took the stage before him, Lien made a reference to yesterday's pouring rain to mock Chen, saying bad weather was God showing disapproval of Chen's inauguration.

"Even the almanac advises against holding events today," Lien said.

He said Chen was "lying to the other side of the Strait and the Americans" in his inauguration speech.

Prior to Lien's and Soong's speeches, other pan-blue figures such as Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and New Party Chairman Yok Mu-ming (郁慕明) addressed the crowd, questioning the March 19 assassination attempt on Chen and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and disputing Chen's legitimacy as president.

KMT Vice Chairman Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) also gave a speech at the venue after having, in his capacity as legislative speaker, presented the seals of the president and vice president to Chen and Lu. Wang reiterated oppositions claims that questions surround the assassination attempt and called for opposition unity.

Many protesters waved hand-held flags while others held up placards and black balloons with slogans written in Chinese and English reading "No truth, no president."

T-shirts handed out by organizers contained a red stripe running horizontally across the abdomen, representing Chen's gunshot wound of March 19.

Lien has claimed that the shooting may have been faked to win sympathy votes for Chen.

Saying that the event organizer did not deliberately mobilize people to attend the rally, KMT spokesman Alex Tsai (蔡正元) said, however, that pan-blue legislators were required to take part in the protest under a mobilization order.