As Taiwan counts down to election day, a group of protesters yesterday called for a post-poll coalition between the ruling DPP and the opposition KMT to break the legislative gridlock and save the economy.
Impersonators of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰), walked down a red carpet outside the Presidential Office for a conciliation handshake, escorted by the two KMT candidates who organized the protest.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
The candidates urged the DPP and the KMT to set aside their enmity and cooperate to save the nation's economy, which has plunged into recession with unemployment climbing to record levels.
"KMT-DPP cooperation to save Taiwan," the candidates, Chen Horng-chi (
Chen, who ended 55 years of KMT rule after winning last year's presidential poll, has sent up trial balloons lately, offering to share power with opposition parties in a broadbased post-election coalition government.
Opposition leaders have cold-shouldered Chen's reconciliation overtures, insisting the party with the most number of seats in parliament should form the new Cabinet.
Yesterday's protest was seen by analysts as a sign of an emerging rift in the ranks of the KMT, who suspect the DPP plans to poach its legislators after the elections.
Beating gongs and drums, a convoy of 400 cars stretching several kilometers drove to the Presidential Office and blew their horns in a show of support for political reconciliation between the KMT and the DPP.
"We hope the two parties set aside their enmity to save Taiwan's economy," protest leader Chen Hsueh-fen said.
Riot police armed with clubs and shields stood by and barbed-wire barricades were set up on streets leading to the Presidential Office.
No violence was reported.
On Saturday, about 1,500 flag-waving protesters marched through the capital, calling for the KMT to merge with their splinter parties to help its chances of recapturing the presidency in 2004.
Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has died of pneumonia at the age of 48 while on a trip to Japan, where she contracted influenza during the Lunar New Year holiday, her sister confirmed today through an agent. "Our whole family came to Japan for a trip, and my dearest and most kindhearted sister Barbie Hsu died of influenza-induced pneumonia and unfortunately left us," Hsu's sister and talk show hostess Dee Hsu (徐熙娣) said. "I was grateful to be her sister in this life and that we got to care for and spend time with each other. I will always be grateful to
REMINDER: Of the 6.78 million doses of flu vaccine Taiwan purchased for this flu season, about 200,000 are still available, an official said, following Big S’ death As news broke of the death of Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), also known as Big S (大S), from severe flu complications, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors yesterday urged people at high risk to get vaccinated and be alert to signs of severe illness. Hsu’s family yesterday confirmed that the actress died on a family holiday in Japan due to pneumonia during the Lunar New Year holiday. CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told an impromptu news conference that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 reached 162,352 — the highest
COMBINING FORCES: The 66th Marine Brigade would support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei against ‘decapitation strikes,’ a source said The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area. The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital. That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station
PETITIONS: A Democratic Progressive Party official quoted President William Lai as saying that civil society groups are organizing the recall drives at the grassroots level Some civil society groups yesterday announced that they have collected enough signatures to pass the first-stage threshold to initiate a recall vote against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators in 18 constituencies nationwide, saying that they would submit the signatures to the Central Election Commission (CEC) today. They also said that they expected to pass the threshold in eight more constituencies in the coming days, meaning the number of KMT legislators facing a recall vote could reach 26. The groups set up stations to collect signatures at local marketplaces and busy commercial districts. The legislators their petition drives target include Fu
RSS