Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Lin I-hsiung (
The peaceful sit-down protest mainly included opponents of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant under construction in Taipei County.
Lin, who founded the Nuke-4 Referendum Initiative Association, declined to speak to reporters yesterday.
However, a member of the association read out a statement drafted by Lin, in which he said that all parties promised three years ago to halve the number of legislative seats and that a constitutional amendment had been held up in the Legislative Yuan.
"Getting this resolution passed should be as easy as lifting a finger," the statement said.
The demonstrators urged legislators to pass the proposal before the presidential election on March 20 because there was no reason to delay it. They said legislators made and broke promises too easily.
The 10-day demonstration began on a chilly note, with temperatures falling sharply from the 29?C recorded on Sunday.
Demonstrators sat on cushions and had only a blanket to keep them warm.
A cold front will bring temperatures down to 11?C tomorrow, according to the Central Weather Bureau.
The hunger strike is being conducted in 24-hour sessions.
Association executive general Iap Phok-bun (
Iap said that Lin and Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh (
DPP caucus secretary-general Tsai Huang-liang (
"We signed the petition letter to show our resolve. But our colleagues from the People First Party (PFP) were reluctant to cooperate," Tsai said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus leader Liao Feng-te (
"We all respect his [Lin's] prestige. But at this critical moment, it's unnecessary to waste his energy," Liao said.
No KMT or PFP legislators have responded so far to a petition endorsed by both Lin and Lee on Feb. 20, activists said.
The petition demands that the ruling and opposition parties act to halve the number of legislative seats from 225.
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