A pro-independence group yesterday called on 100,000 people to participate in Saturday's rally on Ketagalan Boulevard to counter the sit-in initiated by former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Shih Ming-teh (
Chet Yang (
"[The rally will be] held to safeguard the Taiwanese government and universal ideals of freedom, democracy, stability and prosperity," he said. "We will not allow anyone to infringe upon these universal ideals, nor the authority of the Presidential Office and the [Chen] administration."
Yang said the theme of the rally would be love, hope and light, which indicated that participants in the event were on the side of "the light," while demonstrators in the anti-Chen campaign were on the side of "darkness."
"We want to offer the people of Taiwan a different option," he said. "The thumbs-down gesture of Shih's demonstration signifies that [the movement] is doomed to political impotence, but our gesture symbolizes that Taiwan and its people are always in our hearts," he said.
The gesture suggested for the pro-independence event involves using the index and middle fingers of the right hand to draw a circle in the air before placing them over the heart.
Yang said neither Taiwan nor Chen would be defeated by Shih's protest, because the Taiwan Society and the people of Taiwan would stand up to voice their opposition.
Organizers of Saturday's pro-independence event also previewed an advertisement which will be shown on TV today to encourage those who have so far remained silent to come out and take a stand.
The message they wanted to get across in the ad, Yang said, was that they opposed sinicization but wanted stability, that they opposed revolution but wanted law and order and that they opposed social unrest but wanted to improve the economy.
Officials from the Presidential Office, Executive Yuan, DPP headquarters and DPP legislative caucus met at the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon to discuss how to respond to the anti-Chen protest.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said that everyone agreed to support the Taiwan Society rally, but emphasized that every effort must be made to avoid possible conflicts.
He said the DPP Central Standing Committee would discuss whether to mobilize people for the rally at its meeting today.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
RSS