A group of young people plan to stage a vigil tonight in support of Tsai Ting-kuei (蔡丁貴), chairman of the Taiwan Association of University Professors, and other localization activists who are staging a seven-day hunger strike to back demands for amending the Referendum Law (公投法).
Fifty students representing 10 groups will join the hunger strike outside the legislature starting tonight, said Chen Ya-lin (陳亞麟), a rally organizer.
Tsai said he wished to see more young people join him in response to an appeal by some students that he should stop his strike to retain his strength for further protests.
In a message he left on the association’s Web site on Monday, Tsai expressed regret that no young people had joined the hunger strike.
Tsai says the law is undemocratic because it sets unreasonably high thresholds for a referendum to be initiated and to be passed.
“Professor Tsai has said that he wished young people would join him, and we also think that we are obliged to play a role in the fight for a better democracy,” Chen said.
Chen said the student groups launched a drive on the Internet, asking for 1,000 young people to participate in the hunger strike.
“We hope young people planning to join the vigil will bring flashlights so that they can shine them on the legislature to dispel its darkness,” Chen said.
The Taiwan Association of University Professors said in a statement on its Web site that Tsai would end his hunger strike if young people would take over the protest, because that would mean young people are also concerned about issues related to the public interest and that he was not alone in his concern.
Whether he receives support or not, Tsai would continue to push for amending the law, the statement said.
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