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Elderly Japanese tourists to join `228 Hand-in-Hand Rally'

A group of Japanese will travel to Taiwan to take part in the "228 Hand-in-Hand Rally" to be held on Saturday to mark 228 Peace Memorial Day, organizers said yesterday.

A spokesman for President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) campaign office in Tainan County said the group, made up of more than 40 elderly Japanese, is scheduled to arrive tomorrow in preparation for joining the rally.

According to the spokesman, the Japanese visitors love Taiwan very much and visit Wushantou Reservior in Tainan County's Kuantien Township every year.

The reservoir was designed by a Japanese engineer during the Japanese colonial era. Kuantien is Chen's hometown.

"This time around, they have made some changes to their travel itinerary in order to take part in the `228 Hand-in-Hand Rally,'" the spokesman said.

The rally's human chain will start from Hoping Island off the northern tip of Keelung and finish at Oluanpi, stretching more than 500km from north to south along Taiwan's west coast.

At 2:28pm, participants will turn to face the Central Mountain Range and shout slogans such as "Holding hands together to save Taiwan," "Peace yes! Missiles no!" and "Taiwan yes! China no!"

Organizers said it is hoped that the rally would break the world record for the longest human chain.

This record dates back to 1989 when the people of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia formed the "Baltic Chain" to express their opposition to interference by the Russian army.

Claiming that the rally is not a presidential campaign activity, Chen said on Monday he hopes all of his fellow compatriots, regardless of their ethnic background, political affiliation, gender or age, will come out on Feb. 28 and take part in the rally to set a new record for Taiwan.

Organizers said there will be many traditional Taiwanese folk art performances staged during the rally to add to the fun.
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