The presidential inauguration on May 20 should not be held in the south, Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (
Since incumbent President Chen Shui-bian (
Independent Kaohsiung City Councilor Lin Kuen-shan (
Lin said he worried about the continuing turbulence in the capital, suggesting that Hsieh unite seven major southern counties to carry out the event.
"Holding the grand occasion in the south could avoid encountering possible chaos [induced by political opponents]," Lin said to Hsieh.
In addition, Lin argued that this would be a great chance to reveal the DPP-led government's outstanding achievements in the south to the rest of the world.
Hsieh, however, said thoughtlessly changing the venue for the event was not a good idea.
"We have to consider challenges about the deployment of police forces and the convenience of foreign missions and guests," Hsieh said.
Hsieh added that Kaohsiung welcomes related celebrations and events prior to the May 20 Inauguration.
But meanwhile, many residents in the south looked forward to upcoming celebration events to be held by the winning pan-green camp over the weekend.
To show its gratitude to supporters in the south, the first celebration for President Chen will be held in his hometown in Tainan County tomorrow
According to the DPP's Tainan County Chapter, Chen will be congratulated by his supporters tomorrow. Chen and his campaign partner, Vice President Annette Lu (
In the celebration, Lu, Premier Yu Shyi-kun and DPP Secretary-General Chang Chun-hsiung (
Tomorrow, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) will hold a rally to celebrate the pan-green's victory in the March 20 presidential election in Kaohsiung City. TSU Chairman Huang Huang Chu-wen (
Event organizers said yesterday that the rally would be processed smoothly in a bid to distinguish itself from the furious ones involving the pan blue camp in the north. Religious and peaceful ballads will be sung to pray for peace in Taiwan.
However, a specially designed performance skit will be played to satirize the unreasonable demands of the pan-blue camp after the March 20 election and to wipe away pan-green supporters' melancholia.
A special program that had been arranged to allow former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) to speak to supporters at the rally via a web camera has been canceled.
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