Organizers of the anti-President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) campaign announced yesterday that their leader, Shih Ming-teh (施明德) -- a former chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party -- will be the group's sole representative at tomorrow's National Day celebrations.
Campaign spokesman Jerry Fan (范可欽) told a press conference that Shih will show up at an undisclosed location in the morning. He added that Shih would abide by the guidelines laid down by the National Security Bureau for the event.
Fan said the campaign had reached an agreement with Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), who is responsible for organizing the celebration, in the legislature yesterday morning.
Wang told reporters that campaign organizers had agreed that the celebration should proceed smoothly. The basic guidelines, he said, were that everyone was welcome to attend, regardless of the color of their clothes, but that no bulky backpacks, weapons, megaphones, balloons or signs unrelated to the celebrations would be permitted.
"Shih alone will exercise the campaign's constitutional right to assemble and parade," said Yao Li-ming (
"We urge supporters of the campaign not to gather," Fan said. "There will be no mass gathering."
Fan said details of the location where Shih will make his appearance will be revealed to the press at an appropriate time.
The campaign's media officer, Chang Fu-chung (
The bureau had the campaign in mind when it staged a security drill in preparation for the celebration on Thursday, Chang said.
The bureau's actions were intended to sully the campaign's image, Chang said, promising that the campaign will remain peaceful.
"The behavior of anyone dressed in red, apart from Shih, on National Day will have absolutely nothing to do with the campaign," Chang said.
The campaign staged a large-scale demonstration on National Day last year, demanding the president step down over the "state affairs" fund in which first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) was indicted.
Fist fights, vocal protests and minor scuffles marred last year's celebrations, prompting Chen to threaten that the government would cease to commemorate National Day.
In a related development, Wang told reporters that National Day celebrations would not be canceled in the event of light rain. However, he said certain performances might be canceled if bad weather increased the risk of those involved.
Wang was referring to the parachute display which is intended to be the highlight of tomorrow's celebrations.
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