Nearly 2,000 protesters waving red and blue Taiwanese flags and chanting "shame" on Saturday called for an independent probe into Taiwan's disputed national election.
"We want a recount," retired accountant Robert Chi said as he clutched US and Taiwanese flags, apparently unaware that the president had already said there would be a recount. "We want the president to hear us. He lied."
The rally was part of a series of protests in the US that echoed protests in Taiwan. Nearly a half-million people gathered in Taipei on Saturday to protest the results of the March 20 election that opponents say was rigged by President Chen Shui-bian (
In Los Angeles, protesters from as far away as Phoenix gathered for about two hours in a parking lot in the city's bustling Chinatown neighborhood. They waved banners that said "Recount the ballots" and "Justice, truth, fairness" as music and speeches blared over loudspeakers.
Police estimated the crowd reached about 1,800 people.
"It's not a justified and fair election,'' said Terry Lee, a protest coordinator who worked for People First Party candidate James Soong (
"All the polls showed [Chen] should have lost the election," Lee said, apparently unaware that several polls indicated the race was too close to call in the weeks prior to the election.
An afternoon rally was also planned in San Francisco.
"I think they should have a whole new election," said Sherrien Shui, a Los Angeles wedding planner who was born in Taiwan.
Wearing a yellow headband that said "Justice," she compared the circumstances around the election, including the assassination attempt, to "a movie, a play, that he [Chen] directed himself."
Although pan-blue leaders have made similar claims, they have given no evidence to support such conspiracy theories.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
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