Ending his final day of campaigning that took him from the south of the island to the north, independent candidate James Soong (
Yesterday's rallies, in Kaohsiung, Taichung and Taipei, used the title "Mobilizing the people to send Soong to the Presidential Office."
Soong also, for the first time, brought out his eldest son, Allen Soong (宋楚瑜), in addition to other members of his family, in what was seen as an attempt to play on the sentiments of family values.
At their final rally appearance in Taipei, the elder Soong was joined by his wife, Chen Wan-shui (
Campaigners said the purpose of the song was to encourage voters not to vote for someone who would "cause instability."
"I am giving up my `small love' [of the family] in order to give James Soong up to all the people, to allow all parents to be able to see their children grow up in peace and safety," Soong's wife said.
Throughout the rallies, the crowds -- which in Taipei drew what some estimated was as many as 300,000 people -- continued to shout: "Dump Lien, save Soong!"
Many more people gathered around the Taipei Municipal Stadium, apparently unable to get inside due to the huge crowd.
The "dump-save" slogans were matched by thousands of red flags, also bearing the words "Dump Lien and save Soong," along with Taiwan's national flag and tens of thousands of campaign flags.
The throng of supporters in the area made the final night of Soong's presidential campaign a sea of red flags.
"I will reform [Taiwan's] corrupt politics," Soong pledged to the crowd.
"I have been leading the race from the beginning," he said. "But the KMT is doing everything it can to push me down. The KMT can do this but it can never crack down on the resolution of Taiwan's people to fight for democracy."
The one surprise of the day came in Kaohsiung, when Soong's eldest son, Allen, who last December found himself involved in his father's financial scandal, appeared for the first time on the campaign platform, drawing a cheer from the crowd.
"I came back to show my support for my father," he said.
James Soong then said that three of five pieces of real estate in California owned his son -- which had been at the center of another scandal in February -- have already been sold.
Other star supporters at Soong's rally included former justice minister Liao Cheng-hao (廖正豪), who checked out of a Taipei hospital earlier in the day for the occasion, and former legislative speaker Liu Sung-fan (劉松藩).
Liao appealed to supporters not to be influenced by vote buyers.
"You can take their money, but vote for Soong," he said.
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