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.
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