The fight against SARS sees a march to change Taiwan's name postponed

The Alliance to Campaign for Rectifying the Name of Taiwan yesterday called off the scheduled 100,000 person march scheduled for May 11 to avoid the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

The joint national convener of the campaign and advisor to the president Ng Chiau-tong (黃昭堂) said yesterday the large-scale march will be changed into a small memorial service, and the march will be postponed to Sept. 6.

"The campaign to rectify the name of Taiwan is the path leading to Taiwan's sustainable development.

"However, because the nation is combating the spread of SARS, it is not a good time for the alliance to stage the march. Therefore we decided to postpone it," Ng told a press conference.

Presidential advisor Chen Lung-chih (陳隆志), a long-term advocate for Taiwan's independence, yesterday said "it is meaningful to call off the march until Sept. 6 as the country is making all-out efforts to contain SARS."

Meanwhile, the Association of Friends of Lee Teng-hui (李登輝之友會), which was scheduled to hold its first anniversary on Sunday, also joined in the national SARS-combat activities and canceled the celebration.

Association chairman and a national policy advisor Hwang Kun-hu (黃崑虎) said yesterday "in support of President Chen Shui-bian's instruction to combat the spread of SARS, the association will call off its scheduled activities in order to help with ongoing prevention work."

As Taiwan prepares to launch the name ratification campaign, the state-run Central News Agency reported yesterday that a hacker's Web site in China said it would hack into Taiwan's official Web sites from 9am today to 8pm on May 11 in retaliation against the nation's pro-independence activities.

The statement by the Chinese hackers stated they would use the DDOS model to paralyze Taiwan's major official Web sites, including those of the Presidential Office, the Executive Yuan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of National Defense, the Mainland Affairs Council, and the Government Information Office.