Human rights activists were planning a two-hour protest demonstration outside President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) hotel in Seattle yesterday afternoon.
Ma, who has just completed a 10-day state visit to Central America, was not scheduled to make any public appearances during his transit stop, but the protesters wanted to talk with him in private before he flies home.
EMBARRASSING
The protest could prove embarrassing because Ma has deliberately kept a very low profile in the US. News of the demonstration outside the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Seattle would be the first that the vast majority of Americans hear about his presence in the country.
Organizers expect between 100 and 200 demonstrators — most from the Seattle area — with some coming from as far as Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, British Columbia.
They plan to wave signs reading “One Taiwan — One China” and “President Ma not Mr Ma” and to hand out leaflets alleging human rights violations under the Ma administration.
“President Ma will certainly know we are outside his hotel, but the real mission is to make more Americans aware of what is happening in Taiwan and to encourage the American government to break its silence and speak out in favor of Taiwanese self-determination,” said Brock Freeman, one of the organizers.
“We don’t expect President Ma to meet with us, but if he does we will say that just because he was elected he does not have the right to trample on human rights, suppress freedom of speech and march Taiwan towards unification with China,” Freeman said.
In a statement posted on the Internet by “multiple organizations supporting human rights for the Taiwanese” the protest organizers said a new “worrying development” has emerged at recent rallies in Taiwan.
‘BLACK SHIRTS’
The statement says that violent pro-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supporters known as “black shirts” are inciting violence at peaceful protests and their actions are being blatantly ignored by police.
“In one incident, students attacked by the black shirts were hauled into the police station, questioned for hours and told to stay away from further rallies,” the statement said.
“Our Seattle demonstration will absolutely be a peaceful event. We will talk with people in the street and try to get them involved and press them to let their elected officials know they are concerned about what is happening in Taiwan,” Freeman said.
“Above all, we want to help the people of America understand what is really going on in Taiwan,” he said.
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