Heavily policed protests greeted Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) yesterday upon arrival in Taichung for the fourth round of cross-strait talks.
More than 500 protesters mobilized by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Falun Gong spiritual movement gathered on the main road leading to Taichung’s Cingcyuangang Airport, calling for Chen to be deported.
The group used balloons to form the characters “One Taiwan, One China” (一台一中), accusing President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of kowtowing to Beijing and selling out Taiwan.
Police had barricaded the area surrounding the airport. Taichung County Police Bureau said about 1,000 officers were at the airport to ensure Chen’s safety.
Police officers stood on the roofs of homes near the airport with video recorders to collect evidence in case of clashes. Anti-riot police stood by with wooden batons and metal shields.
A string of minor scuffles broke out as protesters and unification supporters engaged in a shouting match, prompting police to dispatch its anti-riot squad.
Around 30 members of the China Unification Promotion Party were allowed into the restricted area because they had purchased plane tickets to Penghu. Once inside, they pulled out red banners about 40 minutes prior to boarding time to welcome Chen, shouting unification slogans.
Nine DPP Taichung County councilors who were sitting outside the airport lobby fired back, telling the unificationists to “get out of Taiwan and go back to China” and that “Communist Chen” was not welcome.
The two groups began shoving each other and hurling insults, but police did not arrive until a few minutes after the tension subsided. No injuries were reported.
DPP Taipei City councilor Chuang Ruei-hsiung (莊瑞雄) tried unsuccessfully to enter the airport lobby, but was apprehended by police guarding the door.
Chen left the airport through the back entrance, avoiding the front lobby and protesters waiting outside.
The DPP said it was “regrettable” that Chen was afraid to face the “real voice” of the Taiwanese.
“Anything they sign has to be approved by the people of Taiwan, but we don’t even know what they’re going to sign,” Huang Chun-jung, 27, a protester from southern Taiwan, said at the airport.
“We’re going to use peaceful means today to express our opposition,” Huang said.
About 200 protesters, organized by the DPP, shouted “Taiwan, China, one country on either side [of the Taiwan Strait],” as Chen was driven away on a guarded back road.
Falun Gong practitioners, a spiritual group that China has vowed to exterminate, gathered in groups at various intersections and open areas near the Windsor Hotel where Chen is staying.
When Chen’s motorcade arrived at the hotel, it was welcomed by protesters using air horns and chanting “Taiwan, China, one country on either side.”
A heavy police presence was stationed outside the hotel, which was surrounded by rows of barbed wire and a total of 5,000 officers deployed to keep order.
Meanwhile, the DPP held a meeting yesterday to discuss rapid responses to any emergencies that might arise during the talks.
DPP Secretary-General Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) said after the meeting that as a democratic and free country, Taiwan should honor freedom of expression and that it is inappropriate and unnecessary for police to tighten security in certain areas.
Su gave assurance that the protests the DPP would stage in Taichung in the next few days would be peaceful.
He also cautioned protesters to watch out for their own safety and resist being provoked by agitators.
At a meeting on Saturday with Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強), Su told him that the protests would not involve any “sabotage,” to which Hu responded that while the city government respects the public’s right to protest, demonstrations should be peaceful.
Hu also said he had cautioned the police against overreacting when facing protesters.
At a separate setting yesterday, KMT caucus secretary-general Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) urged the DPP to make protests peaceful.
“I’m going to call on DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen [蔡英文] to manage certain individuals [in the demonstrations],” Lu told a press conference, without clarifying what he meant.
Lu said the cross-strait agreements to be signed were meant to improve the livelihood of Taiwanese, adding that he could not comprehend the DPP’s opposition to them.
Additional reporting by agencies and Flora Wang
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