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.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,