The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday announced that it will hold a large-scale campaign rally, dubbed "Anti-War for Protecting Taiwan," on Thursday evening to boost party momentum for the upcoming National Assembly elections. The rally will be held in Hsinchuang, Taipei County.
Although the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) was invited to the event, the party criticized the DPP rally as a mere ploy to swindle the public out of their votes.
Showing a DPP rally invitation letter to the media yesterday, TSU Secretary-General Chen Chien-ming (陳建銘) slammed the DPP for its flip-flopping in its call to oppose Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Lien Chan's (連戰) China visit at the rally, even though President Chen Shui-bian (
"I want to ask the DPP -- why did you support Lien's trip to China? Why didn't you criticize the agreement reached between Lien and Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) as illegal?" Chen said.
"The DPP's strategy in dealing with Lien's visit to China is inconsistent and two-faced," he added.
"We think that the purpose of the DPP rally has less to do with National Assembly elections and more to do with cheating people out of votes by playing on their apathy," Chen said.
Since Lien Chan's first name means "war" in Mandarin, and the DPP rally will take on an "anti-war" theme, the TSU official said the event was an attempted strategy to consolidate support merely by smearing Lien.
Responding to a question from the media, Chen said that TSU officials and lawmakers will go to CKS International Airport to "greet" the KMT chairman as he returns from China this evening.
"We have not encouraged our supporters to go with us because the government is incapable of protecting their safety, and we don't want to see people beaten by gangsters once again," Chen said.
In response to TSU criticism, DPP Secretary-General Lee Yi-yang (
"I think it is unfair to say that [the DPP] cheats people. We are not two-faced at all," Lee said.
Lee also said that Thursday's rally will highlight the DPP's position on the opposition leaders' trips to China, and seek support for constitutional reform.
"The DPP's stand is clear. We firmly oppose Lien's accepting of the non-existent `1992 consensus.' What Lien did in China is just like giving up the deed to a house in exchange for some furniture," Lee said.
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