The Alliance to Campaign for Rectifying the Name of Taiwan yesterday announced that a Nov. 27 rally supporting a change of national title will be postponed until Feb. 28.
Alliance executive director Peter Wang (王獻極) yesterday said the postponement was the idea of former president Lee Teng-hui (
Lee thought a rally held on the earlier date might give the mistaken impression that it was intended to boost the pan-green camp's election campaign, thereby distancing people from the alliance's real message, Wang said.
Another reason for the delay was that the alliance hoped the rally would serve to continue the success of this year's 228 Hand-in-Hand Rally on Feb. 28, in which nearly 2 million people formed a 500km-long human chain to protest China's missiles aimed at Taiwan, Wang said.
"We also think that we will be able to attract more people to join the rally and give us more help," Wang said.
The alliance will modify the theme of the rally from "light up the island, protect Formosa" to "light up the island on Feb. 28 and write a new Constitution, change Taiwan by referendum."
Wang said the delay would allow the alliance more time to prepare for the event.
However, according to a senior Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) official who wished to remain anonymous, it was DPP deputy secretary-general, Lee Ying-yuan (李應元), who advised postponing the rally after the DPP assessed that it would not be as persuasive or mobilize as many people as the alliance expected.
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