Surrounding the Chinese character Pi (屁, fart) formed by 300,000 candles, about 2,000 red-clad protesters gathered at Ketagalan Boulevard yesterday to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the anti-corruption campaign launched to oust President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
Rather than motivating supporters and leading participants to parade around the Presidential Office as it did last year, the campaign said the gathering was held to peacefully commemorate the movement while recalling the passion of the protesters and their continued opposition to corruption and Chen.
"The symbol of the Chinese character `Pi' formed by candle light is to tell A-bian that he is not worth a penny," campaign spokesman Jerry Fan (
"We are here today to speak our minds, to express our continued anger at the government and to help the people and society to heal the wounds," he said.
The campaign, led by former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Shih Ming-teh (
The month-long sit-in protest attracted thousands of people with more than NT$111 million (US$3.36 million) raised from public donations until the campaign lost momentum and eventually ended its rallies amid internal disputes and violent clashes following its "siege" protest last Oct. 10.
Shih, who had vowed not to end the protest unless Chen stepped down, showed up last night to address the rally.
Several supporters wearing red clothes started to gather on Ketagalan Boulevard in the morning before the rally formally started at 6pm.
"We need to voice our anger and disappointment at the corrupt government and Chen Shui-bian, even though I know that this rally won't get him to step down," a protester surnamed Hsu said.
Another participant, Kevin Liu agreed that people's disappointment with the government and Chen will not disappear.
"Chen will finish his term, and there's no way we can stop him. However, he needs to know that the people's anger hasn't died," Liu said.
Some participants, however, challenged Shih and the campaign for failing to fulfill their promises.
"Shih promised not to leave unless A-bian stepped down. A-bian is still in the Presidential Office, but Shih abandoned the campaign," a protester, who declined to reveal his name, said.
Former DPP legislator and campaign member Lin Cheng-chieh (
Pan-blue politicians who attended the protest last year, including Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), chose to distance themselves from the event this year.
"I didn't know about the gathering, and so I already have other plans. If the campaign's message is still anti-corruption, I will support it," Ma said on Saturday when asked whether or not he would attend.
The Taipei City Police Department yesterday sent about 1,000 police to the rally.
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
RSS