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Officials call for restraint on Oct. 10

Supporters of the anti-President Chen Shui-bian campaign yesterday continue their sit-in outside Taipei Railway Station. The protesters plan to ``lay siege'' to the Presidential Office on Oct. 10. PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES

Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), who is also the chairman of the preparatory committee for Double Ten Day festivities, said yesterday that he would negotiate with the anti-Chen camp to find a solution to its planned "siege" of the Presidential Office on Oct. 10.

"We will take extra care to address the matter because the festivities are of utmost importance to the nation -- we want them to be perfect," Wang said.

As for speculation that the festivities, which are conventionally held in front of the Presidential Office, would be moved to Taipei's Zhongshan Hall in a bid to avoid confrontation with anti-Chen protesters, Wang said the committee hadn't discussed the idea.

Shih Ming-teh (施明德), the initiator of the campaign to unseat President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), told a press conference on Monday that he would send thousands of protesters to besiege the Presidential Office on Oct. 10 in an attempt to prevent the embattled president from entering or leaving his office for national day celebrations.

"The ministry urges protesters to act within the spirit of democracy and hopes they will not disturb foreign guests who will visit Taiwan."

Michel Lu, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman

A Presidential Office spokesman said yesterday that the president's opponents should refrain from taking any drastic actions on "Double Ten Day" for the sake of protecting the country's image and reputation.

David Lee (李南陽), director of the Presidential Office's Department of Public Affairs, said that Oct. 10 was a very important day which traditionally involved the head of the Legislative Yuan officiating over a mass rally in front of the Presidential Office.

"As in the past, many foreign guests will travel to Taipei to attend our national day celebrations. It is hoped that Shih and his followers will give priority to protecting our country's reputation instead of staging protests to cast a pall over our country's otherwise bright prospects," Lee said.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday proposed canceling the national day celebrations if the Taipei City Government gave its approval for a protest to be held outside the Presidential Office.

"If Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) approves their application, it means Ma does not recognize the existence of the Republic of China," DPP caucus whip Yeh Yi-ching (葉宜津) said. "We will strongly recommend to Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng, who chairs the preparatory committee for the festivities, to cancel the celebrations in a bid to prevent any misfortune from occurring."

Yeh said her caucus did not want to see any distinguished guests attending the event getting hurt because of the planned demonstration.

When asked whether her caucus would recommend that the president not attend the ceremony, Yeh said there was no reason for the president to miss the event if it was held.

Meanwhile, Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Lo Chih-ming (羅志明), who is running for Kaohsiung City mayor, said yesterday that it would be a good idea to relocate the ceremony to Kaohsiung City.

As Kaohsiung is a special municipality equipped with an international airport, Lo said it would be a perfect place to host the event.

Yeh, however, expressed opposition to the idea, saying that it would be inappropriate to move the ceremony there unless the Presidential Office planned to relocate to the south.

In related news, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶龍) said yesterday that the ministry would go ahead with all planned national day events as scheduled regardless of any protests.

Under the instruction of Minister James Huang (黃志芳), the ministry yesterday issued foreign missions in Taiwan with guidelines for dealing with the sit-in and demonstrations taking place in Taipei.

The guidelines said that these sorts of protests are a normal occurrence in a democratic society and that the nation's democracy is mature enough to tolerate different voices. The legislature is functioning as usual, it said.

"The ministry urges protesters to act within the spirit of democracy and hopes they will not disturb foreign guests who will visit Taiwan during our national day celebrations," Lu said. "The people of Taiwan are courteous to their foreign friends and we expect those who participate in the protests to stay calm and not to do anything that might endanger foreign visitors."

Canada's Foreign Affairs and International Trade Office has posted a travel advisory on its Web site reminding Canadian visitors that there was a potential for conflict as "major political rallies are taking place in Taipei in the areas near the Presidential Office and the main railway station." The advisory noted, however, that the rallies "tend to be peaceful."

Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan and Mo Yan-chih
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