Tue, Sep 12, 2006 page1

• Anti-Chen protest fizzles, then regains signs of life

  WORKING HOURS Only a few hundred people showed up to call for the president's ouster during the day, but by evening their ranks had swelled back to Sunday's numbers

  • By Shih Hsiu-chuan / STAFF REPORTER
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  The number of protestors demanding the resignation of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) fell sharply yesterday morning, as their round-the-clock campaign entered day three, but several thousand protesters came back to the center of the capital in the evening.

  Many protesters went to work yesterday, instead of joining the hundreds of campaigners who spent the night camped out in front of the president's office in the capital in driving rain.

  Despite the dwindling numbers and signs of lost momentum, the demonstrators -- wearing raincoats and red protest headbands -- ?resumed their anti-Chen chants bolstered by the appearance of former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Shih Ming-teh (施明德).

  

  A man gives the thumbs down on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei yesterday as he calls for President Chen Shui-bian to step down.

  PHOTO: LUO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES

  The surge of evening arrivals boosted the flagging morale of organizers, who saw the protest's numbers dwindle on Sunday amid chilly weather and rain.

  "To tell the truth, we were surprised by the new arrivals," said Emile Sheng (盛治仁), spokesman for the anti-Chen campaign. "Doubtless this was a boost to our morale."

  Sheng put the turnout early last night at around 10,000.

  Shih, leader of the campaign to force Chen from office, gave the thumbs down sign to the protesters who in reply yelled "A-Bian, step down!" referring to the president by his nickname.

  Sheng said on Sunday night that he had expected the sharp decline in protest numbers, as many people opted to return to work and heavy rain was forecast to continue.

  The Taipei City Police Department's Zhongzheng First Precinct said around 100,000 people had taken to the streets of Taipei on Saturday, but the number dwindled to only 10,000 or so on Sunday. Police estimated that last night, there were slightly more people participating in the march along the "Nazca lines" than had been the case on the previous day.

  The Shih camp on Sunday initially agreed to scale down the rally zone to meet the traffic demands of a business day, but the zone was later expanded due to the increasing crowd.

  Still, Sheng said the numbers didn't matter, but that continuing the campaign around-the-clock was most important.

  Meanwhile, the leadership of the anti-Chen campaign was starting to show divisions about how they should now proceed, now that the initial momentum of the protests was spent and the president was showing no signs of backing down.

  One of the issues on which they were divided was a proposal to launch a nationwide strike next month to increase the pressure on Chen to resign.

  Yesterday's edition of the Chinese-language China Times newspaper reported that a plan to hold a nationwide strike has been under consideration by the anti-Chen camp.

  An anonymous source was quoted by the paper as saying that a nationwide strike will be held next month if the campaign's demand that Chen resign isn't met.

  Confronted by reporters yesterday, Shih didn't rule out organizing a nationwide strike.

  "There are different ways to make social movements meet with success, by violence, by peace or with a strike. All possibilities exist," he said.

  Shih said that he, for the moment, has no comment on the strike plan.

  "The idea hasn't been completely discussed. It's still a personal opinion," Shih said.

  Chien Hsi-chieh, the head of the pan-purple alliance, told reporters that it was his idea to initiate a strike.

  "A strike would be the last resort," he said.

  Chien, however, remained cautious about the action.

  "As it would be the first political strike to be held in the nation, it should only be held when it will succeed," he said.

  "Once we decide to take action, we will seek support from industrial unions and teachers' unions around the country," he said.

  He added that it's also necessary for the camp to first talk management and the public into agreeing that the strike would not be aimed at paralyzing the economy but forcing a "corrupt regime" to be removed from office.

  But Chang Fu-chung (張富忠) and Ho De-fen (賀德芬), who are serving as spokespersons for the camp, publicly disapproved of the idea.

  In response to the strike idea, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers yesterday voiced their opposition.

  KMT caucus whip Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆) said that the party doesn't want to see a strike, which would impose unnecessary costs on society.

  People First Party (PFP) caucus whip Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said that if people take the initiative to stage a strike, the party will respect and operate in coordination.

  Meanwhile, both Tsai and Lee yesterday urged the DPP to propose a motion to recall Chen when a new legislative session begins next week, saying that the motion should pass the legislature and grant people the legal right to recall Chen through a referendum.

  WANDERING SIT-IN

  The sit-in campaign on Ketagalan Boulevard will temporarily end on Sept. 15, as DPP Taipei City Councilor Yen Sheng-kuan (顏聖冠), on behalf of his party, has received a permit to conduct activities from Sept. 16 to Sept. 20 at the venue.

  Considering the disruption this would cause for their rally, Shih's camp said they would symbolically "besiege" the Presidential Office and the president's official residence, Yushan Residence on the night of Sept. 15 to end the rally.

  "We have gained approval from Taipei City Government for the routes of the siege plan, which will be followed by a five-day sit-in in Taipei Railway Station," Chang said, adding that the protest will again return to Ketagalan Boulevard after Sept. 21.

  Chien said that they are planning to organize at least 20,000 people to join the siege, with each person holding a florescent stick in his hand symbolizing the public shining an "anti-corruption torch" on the country.

  OPINION DIVIDED

  The Chinese-language China Times newspaper on Monday hailed the determination of the demonstrators, and urged politicians from the DPP to support the campaign.

  In its editorial, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister newspaper) said it feared the campaign might spin out of control and plunge Taiwan into chaos because some radical protestors were proposing a nationwide strike.

  "Only by respecting the laws can Taiwan's hard-won democracy be sustained," the newspaper said.

  Chen has been under pressure to resign since his son-in-law Chao Chien-ming (趙建銘) was detained and indicted on suspicion of insider trading and taking bribes.

  Chen has publicly apologized for Chao's actions, but said he would not resign.

  Prosecutors are also looking at whether Chen misused funds intended for national affairs and questioned him last month.

  In June the president survived an unprecedented legislative vote to topple him after the move failed to win the backing of two-thirds of all lawmakers.

  If passed, it would have triggered a national referendum on Chen's future.

  First lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) is also under investigation for allegedly accepting Sogo department store gift certificates in exchange for lobbying efforts.
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