Thousands of angry supporters of failed independent candidate James Soong (
With an estimated crowd of 3,000 people besieging KMT headquarters last night, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou announced late last night he would go immediately to Lee's residence to tell him of the crowds' demands.
Earlier in the day, several luxury sedans used by high-level KMT officials were blocked and smashed by protesters as they attempted to approach the KMT's headquarters at the intersection of Jenai and Chungshan South roads.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Hsu Li-teh (
Riot police resorted to using water cannons several times throughout the day in an attempt to disperse the crowd, causing sporadic clashes and minor injures among the crowd.
By press time, the streets around the KMT headquarters were still occupied with thousands of demonstrators.
The protest was a continuation of activities that began late Saturday night at KMT headquarters after the election result was formally announced.
The protesters then moved to President Lee Teng-hui's Taipei residence around midnight.
Protesters said the spontaneous gathering arose because of their anger at being "fooled" by Lee Teng-hui. "Were it not for Lee Teng-hui, Lien would not have so few votes. He is obviously supporting Chen [Shui-bian]," said one protester.
"Lee step down! Lee step down!" shouted the crowd. Several agitated protesters argued and clashed with police. But volunteers speaking into microphones urged their case. "We are not a mob, we are just expressing the fact [Chen's victory] was unfair!" one shouted.
As the crowd waited in front of Lee's residence in the early hours of yesterday morning, volunteers took turns to deliver speeches -- also blaming the defeat of James Soong on Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and former Control Yuan President Chen Li-an (陳履安).
Both men had supported Lien Chan in the campaign.
Although the protest died down for a while, more people began gathering at noon yesterday, when crowds heard the KMT had called an emergency meeting of its Central Standing Committee.
When party officials approached the headquarter's Jenai Road entrance, crowds began to strike their cars with flag poles and air horns. Some even used hammers to hit the rear windows of the cars. Soon, windows were smashed and some protesters used poles to attack people inside the vehicles.
The 70-year-old Hsu Li-teh was dragged from his car and hit several times, falling to the ground.
Legislative speaker Wang Chin-pyng (
"Lee sold out the KMT and sold out the country! He destroyed the party, because he intended Chen to win!" yelled Wang Yueh-chu (王月珠), a 40-year old Soong supporter who said she had supported the KMT since she was ten years old.
"It's so unfair! Some media were biased when reporting Soong's news," said another protester, Wang Tsuai-feng (
Late in the afternoon, when the KMT meeting was concluding, police again turned on water cannons to disperse the crowd, which was trying to block Lee Teng-hui and other party officials' cars from leaving the building.
The water cleared the crowd on Hsinyi Road, the building's exit, and opened a path for Lee and others officials' cars to pass.
Riot police also arrested several protesters who threw eggs and stones at police.
Several elderly protesters also complained of being hit over the head by police batons.
Lee's departure from the area did little to budge the crowd, however, as more and more demonstrators arrived on the scene.
Ma Ying-jeou appeared late last night to give them an explanation of the KMT's and Soong's defeat.
"I understand your insecurity and grievances. I promise to deliver your message to chairman Lee, and to advise him to seriously consider quitting [the party chairmanship] immediately," Ma told the crowd.
Ma also promised to ask the KMT's Central Standing Committee to quit collectively and seek reform of the party.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would severely threaten the national security of the US, Japan, the Philippines and other nations, while global economic losses could reach US$10 trillion, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) wrote in an article published yesterday in Foreign Affairs. “The future of Taiwan is not merely a regional concern; it is a test of whether the international order can withstand the pressure of authoritarian expansionism,” Lin wrote in the article titled “Taiwan’s Plan for Peace Through Strength — How Investments in Resilience Can Deter Beijing.” Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) intent to take Taiwan by force
RSS