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Minor skirmishes as DPP launches UN torch relay

Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Frank Hsieh, center, vice presidential candidate Su Tseng-chang, right, and Presidential Office Secretary-General Yeh Chu-lan, left, take part in the first stage of a UN torch relay in Taipei yesterday. PHOTO: CNA

Amid physical clashes and protests, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday launched a nation-wide torch relay in support of its UN membership bid under the name "Taiwan."

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) lit the torch during a ceremony at 7am on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office.

The two then led the crowd in a run along the boulevard to Jingfumen (景福門), where DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and his running mate, Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), received the torches from Chen and Lu.

A group of some 20 athletes will complete the 1,200km torch relay across 25 cities and counties in 11 days.

The torch will return to Taipei on Nov. 3, when the DPP will hold an evening gala at National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall.

Members of the crowd shouted slogans outside the Chang Yung-fa Foundation building, where the KMT headquarters once stood.

Chen said the torch relay was the most peaceful and reasonable way to express the will of the 23 million Taiwanese to join the UN under the name "Taiwan."

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou, center, cycles through Taipei with supporters yesterday to promote the party's referendum proposal. PHOTO: CNA

Saying that Taiwan and China are two different countries, Chen told the crowd that joining the UN under the name "Taiwan" reflected the opinion of the public and a was a way to assert its sovereignty.

"Taiwan has never been a province of the People's Republic of China [PRC]," he said. "Taiwan and China are two different countries across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan has every right to ask for a seat at the UN with all other peace-loving countries in the world."

The torch relay is also a means to lodge a protest with Beijing, which keeps using next year's Olympic torch relay to attack and denigrate Taiwan's status, Chen said.

International support is important for Taiwan's UN bid, Chen said, but what is more important is unity in Taiwan.

Chen said it was the first time the country applied for UN membership using the name "Taiwan" and that although the results so far had not been satisfactory, the new approach had attracted much attention from international media and touched off heated debate in the international community.

The Executive Yuan has designated Oct. 24 as Taiwan UN Day and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has founded a UN Research Center to help the government set policy for the UN campaign.

Minutes before Chen wrapped up his speech, a cyclist lost consciousness in front of the president and was rushed to the hospital.

Hsieh, who had just recovered from a sprained ankle, said it still hurt but that he was happy because many people participated in the event. Organizers hoped 100,000 people would take part in the 11-day event.

Hsieh said his injured ankle was like the country's UN bid. The road is bumpy and sometimes a price has to be paid, but in the end, the result is rewarding, he said.

As the DPP is in the second phase of petitioning to hold a referendum on applying to the UN, Hsieh called on the public to support the signature drive.

Su said the run did not start as smoothly as expected because of the large number of participants. He likened the event to the country's UN bid, adding that the more participants there were, the more power for the nation.

Earlier in the morning, members of the anti-Chen campaign urged the DPP administration to immediately stop the event, claiming it violated the Parade and Assembly Law (集會遊行法).

The relay was also marred by some clashes.

Dozens of KMT youth corps members tried to join the relay carrying national flags, but police ordered them to leave.

Light skirmishes broke out as police tried to push them back.

"The police are stealing our national flags. Why can't we carry flags and join the relay?" some youth corps members shouted.

About 30 members of the the Chinese Unification Promotion Association, a pro-China group, tried to provoke participants as they reached the Zhongxiao E Road-Zhongshan S Road intersection.

Several people were injured and were sent to the hospital.

Police also prevented dozens of red-clad protesters from haranguing the relay participants.

Meanwhile, KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) led several hundred party members and supporters in a 5km bike tour of Taipei City yesterday morning to focus on the "plight of the people."

Ma called on the government to put greater effort into improving the economy.

While the party expected up to 500 participants, about 200 to 300 cyclists joined in, with some dressing like vagrants or hanging milk powder cans on the bicycles to highlight the people's plight.

Leading the crowd and singing "Fighting for a better life and returning to the UN," Ma criticized the DPP for creating conflict with its UN referendum bid and for failing to improve the economy during its years in office.

"Neither returning to the UN nor joining the UN is more important than improving the lives of Taiwanese. The DPP has pocketed the nation's assets for its own interests and we can't ignore its incompetence anymore," Ma said in front of National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall before launching the ride, also at 7am.

To avoid running into the DPP, which launched its relay almost simultaneously, Ma and other cyclists took a different route. No confrontations were reported.

KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄), who did not join the event because of back pain, met Ma, KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) and other members at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and used the occasion to criticize the DPP.

"President Chen has caused such misery for Taiwanese and now he wants to continue controlling our future by manipulating the electoral mechanism," Wu said.

The party's youth corps, attending the event, accused the DPP and its supporters of attacking them.

Corps director Huang Chih-chong (黃執中) said DPP supporters surrounded corps members and scolded them for bringing the national flag to the DPP's relay.

"The DPP should not join China in suppressing the national flag," Huang said at KMT headquarters.

Other pan-blue city and county governments were scheduled to hold cycling activities yesterday or later.
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