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DPP urges unity against Chinese bill

Declaring China's "anti-secession" law a threat to the nation, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) announced yesterday that it is organizing a march for democracy and peace on March 26, while extending an invitation to opposition leaders to attend the rally.

"The `anti-secession' law will destroy the democratic way of life that the Taiwanese people have long struggled to maintain. The Taiwanese people are facing a danger at their doorstep and are all in this together," said DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) at a press conference yesterday morning.

"We must again express our insistence on peace and democracy and our determination to defend the Taiwanese homeland," he added.

All the Taiwanese people, regardless of location, age, gender, or party affiliation should join the "Democracy, Peace and Defend Taiwan" rally, Su said.

In an effort to build unity the DPP will be extending invitations to opposition party leaders to join the mass rally.

"At this critical time, all the nation's people should unite without regard for party politics. The greater the number of people, the more we show that Taiwan is united. We need to let the Chinese government know that the Taiwanese people will not capitulate," Su said.

In response to previous media rumors that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) would personally lead the 500,000-strong march, Su said that as the nation's leader will have to evaluate and consider making an appearing.

Expressing support for the event, pro-independence groups such as the World United Formosans for Independence, as well as the DPP's pan-green ally, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), said that they would be attending the rally.

Despite the DPP's invitation yesterday, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and People First Party (PFP) said that they would not attend the March 26 rally.

"PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) will not be attending the parade. Both sides [of the Taiwan Strait] should handle cross-strait affairs logically and not provoke one another and destroy the chances of cross-strait peace and reconciliation," said PFP spokesman Hsieh Kung-pin (謝公秉) yesterday in response to the news.

In a statement released yesterday, the KMT mocked the DPP for asking them to take to the streets, while at the same time encouraging people not to join a KMT-led march on March 19 -- the one-year anniversary of last year's assassination attempt on Chen and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮).

"Just previously, Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) was asking the people to not take to the streets, but [yesterday] Su is now talking about inviting opposition leaders to do just such a thing," said KMT spokeswoman Cheng Li-wen (鄭麗文) in yesterday the statement. "These kind of contradictory statements from the DPP's leadership shows that the party has double standards. That is not the sort of action you expect from a responsible party."

"Chen, Su, and other DPP figures should together accept the March 19 `Democracy, Truth, and Peace' parade initiated by the 319 Movement Alliance. These three things are what the 23 million Taiwanese people actually want," Cheng added.

The KMT-affiliated interest group is organizing a parade on March 19 to protest recent developments in the assassination attempt case. The alleged shooter of Chen and Lu was found dead on Monday in Tainan in an apparent suicide. The pan-blue camp has refused to accept the breakthrough in the case.
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