The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday expressed its support for the Central Election Committee's (CEC) decision to separate presidential and referendum voting at polling stations on March 20. The DPP also called on the pan-blue alliance to stop agitating the public by saying that the voting arrangements could cause a riot.
The commission on Wednesday decided to revoke an earlier resolution -- in which voters were to pick up the presidential and referendum ballots at the same time -- and switch to the Taipei City Government's plan of separate voting.
The DPP yesterday also pledged that it would never declare martial law while President Chen Shui-bian (
The possibility of bloodshed became a hot topic this week after the Chinese-language media reported that Chen planned to proclaim martial law and use the military to quell any fighting that might erupt during the election.
The reports quoted opposition lawmakers, who said a top National Security Bureau official mentioned the martial law option during a closed-door briefing in the legislature.
But at a rally on Wednesday night, Chen told his supporters that during his term in office, he would "never allow Taiwan to return to martial law."
"Some people think they might lose so they've already started brewing up insinuations that someone would like to use violence to affect the election procedures and results," Chen said to a roaring crowd.
Chen said that after he won the 2000 election, it was the current opposition that acted like sore losers and demonstrated in the street.
The large crowds surrounded the KMT's headquarters and de-manded that the party's chairman resign and take responsibility for the defeat.
"After the March 20 vote, all the campaigners should believe in the people's decision," Chen said. "Believe in the voters."
At a news conference yesterday, Presidential Office Secretary-General Chiou I-jen (邱義仁), who is also executive chief of the DPP's presidential campaign headquarters, said: "We accept the CEC's resolution, but we also urge Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) to ask his supporters and party members to call off their boycott of the referendum."
Chiou asked Lien to cease his alarmist statements. He said that the pan-blue camp has been opposing the referendum since last year, claiming that it was illegal, that there was no plan on implementing it and that it would lead to rioting.
Taiwan's people have been faced with polls involving two or three ballots before, and no riots ensued, Chiou said, accusing the pan-blue camp of having a condescending attitude toward the people.
Chiou said that since the CEC accepted the pan-blue alliance's plan to separate the referendum voting, the KMT and People First Party (PFP) had no reason to discourage people to vote in the referendum.
He also endorsed Chen's statement that he would never declare martial law, adding that the president fully trusts the people to defend the nation's democratic system.
"If there is any riot after the March 20 election, it would be the result of some politician stirring it up," Chiou said.
"I urge Lien and [PFP Chairman James] Soong (宋楚瑜) to stand in the front line to maintain a peaceful and calm election instead of just threatening people and hiding behind conspiracy theories," he said.
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