Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) could be one of the speakers at next week’s protest against the government’s plan to sign an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) announced on Wednesday that it would hold a massive rally in Taipei City on June 26 to demand the government put its proposed ECFA to a referendum.
Citing a sharp divide in polls over the controversial trade agreement, the DPP is set to unveil a new referendum proposal asking voters whether they agreed with an ECFA at the rally.
The DPP’s standing committee is expected to give the go ahead tomorrow for the rally and to authorize the DPP’s ECFA response team to launch a mobilization order asking tens of thousands of party supporters to congregate in Taipei City.
Party sources told the Central News Agency that the protest could be divided into two routes that would later congregate on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office.
While the agency reported that as many as 100,000 are expected to attend the rally, DPP ECFA response team spokesperson Julian Kuo (郭正亮) told the Taipei Times earlier yesterday that the number could reach 200,000.
DPP Deputy Secretary-General Kao Chien-chih (高建智) said the party would invite Lee to attend the rally, along with a number of pro-independence organizations and the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU).
TSU Chairperson Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝), former presidential adviser Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) and a number of other pro-independence heavyweights are expected to hold a joint press conference today in support of the rally.
The June 26 protest will be the biggest rally to date against an ECFA and in support of a referendum being held on the issue.
In related news, DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday downplayed comments reportedly made by former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) that Tsai would be the DPP’s candidate for the 2012 presidential election.
Tsai said she had no comment, adding that the DPP was firmly focused on the year-end special municipality elections.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS