DPP city councilors lash out over expanded sit-in

Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City councilors Hsu Chia-ching, left, and Li Chien-chang yesterday hold up a map at a press conference in Taipei showing the route for the upcoming anti-President Chen Shui-bian demonstration. PHOTO: LIN SHU-HUEI, TAIPEI TIMES

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors tongue-lashed city government officials yesterday for allowing organizers of the upcoming sit-in demonstration against President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to expand the event.

The sit-in, launched by former DPP chairman Shih Ming-teh (施明德), is slated to begin on Saturday in Taipei. The organizers had originally applied to the Taipei City Government to hold the around-the-clock sit-in on Ketagalan Boulevard, for which they received approval.

Campaign Jerry Fan (范可欽), however, had bigger ideas. Fan announced on Monday that the campaign would position protesters in a pattern resembling an Aboriginal warrior. Fan added that the formation had been inspired by the Nazca Lines, gigantic geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert in Peru. To make Fan's concept a reality, protesters would occupy sections of Renai and Xinyi Roads -- areas not included in the campaign's original application.

"The protesters will block [access to] National Taiwan University Hospital, as well as homes and businesses. Ma, how could you do this to hospital patients?" DPP city councilor Li Chien-chang (李建昌) screamed at a press conference held yesterday with fellow DDP city councilor Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青).

The pair slammed Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for "indulging the campaign's every whim."

Ma organizers' request to expand their sit-in after they had missed a deadline to apply for such a change, the DPP city councilors said.

They added that the event marked the first time in the city's history that an around-the-clock protest had been approved, and the first time the mayor had personally approved such an event.

Chen Kuei-lin (陳桂麟), a spokesman from the Bureau of Public Works' new construction department under the Taipei City Government, said that the request for expansion had been approved because more people were expected to participate than had been originally estimated.

Fang Yang-ning (方仰寧), deputy director of the Zhongzheng First Police District, who also attended the press conference, told reporters that the expansion was legal because it did not qualify as an independent rally, but was rather for the expansion of an already approved event.

Hsu that the application would be reasonable if it had been to expand the event by a few blocks.

"But what we're talking about is throwing two new roads into the approved area," Hsu said.

"Isn't this ironic? The whole `Taiwan's Nazca Lines' theme is about telling Chen to follow the rules, but in doing so the organizers will break the rules. Is this behavior legitimate?" Li said.

Chen that although the organizers had missed the deadline for applying for an expansion, an application had not been necessary, as they only needed to file a request.