Protests calling for President Lee Teng-hui's
Yesterday's protests were marked by sporadic incidents of violence and the use of water cannons once again by police trying to disperse the remaining crowd of several hundred.
While protesters said they could accept the results of Saturday's elections, they blamed Lee for the result, claiming he had used Lien Chan
PHOTO:CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
"Lien Chan was used, he was double crossed," said Jack Chang, a KMT member who voted for Soong.
"By making us choose between Lien and Soong, Lee gave us a very difficult decision," said Cathy Chiu, an education researcher. "This let Chen Shui-bian win," Chiu added.
Chang said the only reason why Soong was subject to so many attacks during the election was because, "Lee hates him."
Although the number of protesters had dwindled from a few thousand late Sunday night to several hundred yesterday, there were repeated clashes with police as they stepped up their efforts to disperse the crowd, using water cannons and large flanks of shield-wielding officers
However, as of late yesterday night, police were still unable to get protesters to leave. Pleas by the Taipei City government and police continued to prove fruitless.
Even Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Local media reported yesterday that Mei Chang-kun (
Although President Lee's spokesman said Sunday that Lee would step down from his party post in September, protesters said they would accept nothing less than Lee's immediate resignation and would not leave until that happened.
Graffiti scrawled outside of the Chiang Kai Shek memorial read, "If Lee steps down in September all of the party assets will be stolen."
The KMT headquarters' walls were caked with eggs and with graffiti reading "Step down Lee Teng-hui" and "Lee is a traitor and thief."
One protester, Phillip Yang, said he would try and kill Lee if he got a chance. "It's not that difficult to build a bomb, I can do it," he said, adding, "Lee is a liar."
The protests and pressure appeared to be paving the way for Soong's return to the party. However, Liu Song-fan (
On Saturday night and Sunday day many protesters were waving Soong's campaign flags. But by Sunday evening all of the protesters had switched to ROC flags and by yesterday many were wearing Lien caps and vests. However, the majority of protesters said they had voted for Soong.
Soong said he had no plans to return to the KMT and seek any position or party resources. Soong said that his new party would register sometime within the next two weeks.
He called on those who were protesting to exercise restraint.
In a meeting with Buddhist Master Sheng Yan (
DEATH THREAT: A MAC official said that it has urged Beijing to avoid creating barriers that would impede exchanges across the Strait, but it continues to do so People should avoid unnecessary travel to China after Beijing issued 22 guidelines allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday as it raised its travel alert for China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to “orange.” The guidelines published last week “severely threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “Following a comprehensive assessment, the government considers it necessary to elevate the travel alert to orange from yellow,” Liang said. Beijing has
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
SOLUTIONS NEEDED: Taiwan must attract about 400,000 to 500,000 skilled foreign workers due to population decline, the minister of economic affairs said in Washington President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration is considering a plan to import labor to deal with an impending shortage of engineers and other highly skilled workers, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said in Washington on Tuesday. Kuo was leading a delegation attending the SelectUSA Investment Summit. Taiwan must attract about 400,000 to 500,000 skilled foreign workers for high-end manufacturing jobs by 2040, he said. Ministry of Economic Affairs officials are still calculating the precise number of workers that are needed, as it works on loosening immigration restrictions and creating incentives, Kuo said. Taiwanese firms operating factories in the US and other countries would