Thu, Sep 28, 2006 page3

• Anti-Chen camp returns to Taipei Railway Station

  TRANSIENT PROTESTERS The movement led by Shih Ming-teh returned to the station last night ahead of setting out on a planned nationwide tour

  • By Mo Yan-chih and Ko Shu-ling / STAFF REPORTERS
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  The campaign aimed at ousting President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday changed its plans yet again, moving its sit-in protest to the Taipei Railway Station.

  Protesters had pledged to stay on Ketagalan Boulevard until they were "dragged away" by the police.

  Shih Ming-teh (施明德), leader of the campaign, said the decision was made considering the pressure both Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and the Taipei City Police Department would face if the camp refused to leave Ketagalan Boulevard after its permit expired yesterday.

  "We are willing to yield to make things easier for Mayor Ma and the police," Shih said on Ketagalan Boulevard.

  Taipei City Police Department Commissioner Wang Cho-chun (王卓鈞) said the department had granted the campaign a permit to protest outside the station until Oct. 4.

  The police department said it planned to deploy 1,500 police officers to maintain order as the crowd traveled to the station.

  Ma yesterday lauded campaign organizers for their willingness to cooperate with the city government, while declining to confirm speculation by CTI TV that Shih had agreed to leave Ketagalan Boulevard after a phone conversation with the Taipei mayor.

  As Shih's campaign prepared for its nationwide tour yesterday, which departs from Taipei tomorrow with Hsinchu City as its first stop, Wei Yao-chian (魏耀乾), an assistant organizer of the movement, promised that the campaign would remain peaceful.

  Shih, meanwhile, lashed out at Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials, including Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興), for refusing to grant the movement access to certain locations.

  "Yang used to hold protests around the nation with me, and now he is trying to repress the people's right to express their opinions ... How dare you?" Shih said.

  Yang, before attending the DPP's Central Executive Committee meeting yesterday afternoon, told the press that he would not approve requests to assemble or march from the Shih camp.

  He said he expected conflicts to occur because county police were understaffed after some 300 officers were sent to Kaohsiung City last week to assist in controlling clashes between Shih's followers and Chen's supporters.

  Yang said the anti-Chen protests organized by Shih's "red army" had delivered a blow to his county's economy.

  While a Japanese company had expressed interest in relocating a plant from China to Kaohsiung County, Yang said he was distraught to learn that the firm had ultimately decided to go elsewhere because of the on-going anti-Chen protests.

  Acting Kaohsiung Mayor Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭) said that although she respected legal marches and assemblies, she suspected the anti-Chen demonstrations would create social unrest.

  Chiayi County Commissioner Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) would not comment on whether he would approve applications for demonstrations, but said he did not want to see conflicts between Shih's "red" camp and its pan-green counterparts.

  Meanwhile, in a related development, Chen Feng-nan (陳峰男), deputy director-general of the Taiwan Railway Administration, said yesterday that it would take similar measures as those implemented two weeks ago to deal with the anti-Chen protests.

  Additional reporting by Shelley Shan
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