Tens of thousands of protesters poured into the streets last night to join a symbolic "siege" of the Presidential Office as part of the anti-President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) movement aimed at ousting him.
The "siege" started at 6pm, earlier than the scheduled 7pm, on Ketagalan Boulevard and then marched along roads around the Presidential Office and the Yushan Residence. The march stretched over 5.5km and concluded at around midnight at the plaza in front of Taipei Railway Station. The sit-in will continue on the plaza until Wednesday, before the camp moves back to Ketagalan Boulevard on Thursday.
As he arrived at the Taipei Railway Station, campaign leader Shih Ming-teh (
PHOTO: WALLY SANTANA, AP
He then led the crowd in shouts of "Long live Taiwanese people" and cheering for the "success" of the "siege."
"The siege tonight proved that Taiwanese people have the ability to clear away corruption and to uphold democracy, justice and peace," Shih said.
He called on the protesters to continue the efforts to oust Chen, urging them to parade on "if any regrettable accident were to happen to me."
"Let us keep fighting! A-bian Step Down!" Shih told the crowd before leading the march on a jeep along Ketagalan Boulevard.
One of the demonstrators, Lee Shu-chun (
"It angers me to see Chen Shui-bian still refusing to step down," Lee told the Taipei Times.
Waiting for friends at the National Taiwan University Hospital MRT station, Sophia Wu, who went to the march directly from work, said although she did not oppose the pan-green camp, she was opposed to the "corrupted Chen Shui-bian."
"Any corrupt official should step down. A-bian is the nation's leader -- he should pay heed to the demand of so many people," said Wu.
At another corner, a high-school student surnamed Tseng, who declined to give her first name, attended the march with her little sister and uncle.
"I came here after school at about 5 pm ... I think President Chen should step down because he is corrupt," she said.
Lin Cheng-chieh (
At 10pm last night the Taipei City Police Department estimated that 320,000 people attended the march, including 3,500 who were staying in the Taipei Railway Station.
According to the department, the march proceeded peacefully, with only minor incidents reported.
Taipei's Rapid Transit System Department said that more than 1.18 million people had taken the MRT by 9pm yesterday, 180,000 more than by same time last Friday.
The Taipei City Department of Heath said that four people were hospitalized for various reasons, including one passed out during the march. No violence-related injuries were reported.
Presiding over a briefing at the police department last night, Ma applauded the peaceful march and thanked the police for their hard work.
According to the Taipei City Police Department's Commissioner Wang Cho-chun (
The head of the National Police Agency, Hou Yu-yi (
To accommodate the anti-Chen crowd that swarmed to the southern square of Taipei Railway Station last night, the Taiwan Railway Administration announced that it would leave the entrances open all night so that protesters could enter to use the bathrooms and purchase personal items.
The administration also decided that it would halt the sale of platform tickets to ensure passenger safety.
The administration had used red tape to mark certain areas in the Station where protesters would be advised to disperse from.
Earlier yesterday during the sit-in, a 48-year-old man named Hou Guo-lung (侯國龍) tried to immolate himself with gasoline on the protest stage before camp staff dissuaded him from doing so.
Hou, from Kaohsiung, said he wanted use his suicide to protest against Chen's corruption and had prepared a suicide note.
Meanwhile, at a party to celebrate the 185th anniversary of Central American Independence Day yesterday, American Institute in Taiwan director Stephen Young said that the protests were part of democracy.
So long as the protesters held their campaign peacefully, they wouldn't violate the law, he said.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan and Shelley Shan
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting
RSS