People First Party (PFP) chairman and pan-blue camp vice presidential candidate James Soong (
Soong's move nearly caused the situation to get out of control, however, as supporters and TV cameramen surged forward. Security personnel had to swiftly intervene to prevent a possible accident.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Soong claimed that over 300,000 people took part in the rally.
After the rally, Soong would not comment on his "kissing the land,"except to say that it had been planned in advance but was only known by top-level blue-camp campaign staff.
The problems Soong's kneeling caused were the result of a failure by the blue camp to synchronize Soong's kneeling down and that of Nationalist (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
The Taichung rally was one of a number or campaign rallies held simultaneously around the country.
An official with the PFP, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that according to the initial plans, Lien should have been the first to kneel down to kiss the ground, which was to be followed by Soong and those leading rallies elsewhere in the country.
The time set for the synchronized move was at 3:20pm, but due to errors in communication links Soong did not make the move until 3:26pm, a little ahead of Lien in Taipei who was apparently also confused about what caused the glitch.
PFP lawmaker Hwang Yih-jiau (
"It has been kept top secret in the blue team. Only a small number of people knew about it. In practice, Soong should not be the only one to kneel down. It would make more sense if all the people around him did the same," Hwang said.
Soong's kneeling down was not beyond the expectations of the green team. President Chen Shui-bian (
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS