With whistles sounding and under drizzling skies, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
Taipei City police said around 30,000 people took part in the rally, down considerably from a KMT rally last November which attracted more than 100,000 supporters.
The rally called for a ceasefire on the unification/independence debate and urged the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government to improve the livelihoods of the people.
PHOTO: CHEN TSE-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
However, the latest remarks from the family of the late Chen Yi-hsiung (
Hostile feeling toward President Chen Shui-bian (
The rally reached a climax when Ma and New Party Chairman Yok Mu-ming (
The KMT invited 12 "ordinary citizens" to complain about the "sluggish economy" and denounce government corruption.
The pan-blue camp's top five figures then took turns speaking, slamming government corruption and the administration's inability to improve the nation.
They vowed to amend major bills in the legislature on issues such as credit card abuse.
"The opposition parties should demand that the government find solutions to many social issues. We don't want an expensive arms procurement bill and we don't want a rise in oil prices," Soong said.
President Chen's recent questioning of Ma five times during a 228 commemorative service with the question "Am I wrong?" became a cause for ridicule yesterday, with Lien teasing the president for addressing Ma like a "nagging wife."
"Chairman Ma likes to tell newlyweds that grooms should never question the brides because the brides will never be wrong ... You [Chen] are not a bride, and [Ma] is not your groom, so how can you ask him whether you are wrong?" Lien said, drawing laughs from the crowd.
The KMT chairman then accused Chen of ignoring people's needs.
"It's wrong of him to leave the people living in destitution and to renege on his promises. The government has already ceased to function," Ma said.
"As credit card slaves commit suicide one after the other, where is the government?" he said.
Ma urged the government to focus its efforts on improving the economy, while pledging to make good use of the opposition's control of the legislature.
"[Chen] has said more than a dozen times that he would make every effort to improve the economy, but he never has. As opposition parties, we will exercise our power to legislate laws and decide major policies to save Taiwan," the KMT chairman said.
Wang supported a new investigation into the assassination attempt on the president and vice president "until the whole truth about the matter has come to light."
"Whether [we proceed or not with a] second 319 shooting truth investigation special committee will need to wait for the legislative caucus to push the matter forward," he said, adding that he expected amendments to the March 19 Shooting Truth Investigation Special Committee Statute (
The rally united the five major pan-blue figures for the first time since the 2004 presidential election.
In return, Ma has promised to join a 319 rally next week organized by the PFP.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS