Thu, Mar 25, 2004 page2

• Academics warn about unrest

  DEVASTATING The ongoing demonstrations by blue camp supporters in Taipei are harming Taiwan's image and could lead to bloodshed, academic representatives say

  • By Caroline Hong and Chang Yun-ping / STAFF REPORTERS
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  Representatives from various academic organizations and think tanks yesterday held a press conference in which they condemned the various accusations made by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) after Saturday's election.

  The press conference was called in an effort to balance out misconceptions in the foreign press about the situation in Taiwan.

  The representatives called for an emergency decree to speed up a ballot recount, saying the matter was not only causing the Taiwanese people but also the international community to doubt the integrity of the Taiwanese government and electoral process.

  Miracles

  "Our government and economy are miracles that were paid for with the blood of many Taiwanese people," said Chiu Chui-liang (邱垂亮), president of Taiwan Heart.

  "The most unfortunate result of Lien and Soong's actions is that they are casting a shadow on Taiwan's democracy in the eyes of the Taiwanese people and our foreign friends," he said.

  Intellectuals from Taiwan Heart, the Northern Taiwan Society, Central Taiwan Society, Southern Taiwan Society, Eastern Taiwan Society and the Taiwanese Professor's Association each repudiated Lien and Soong in turn, calling their accusations baseless.

  In reply to the pan-blue camp's main suspicions about the electoral process, Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), research fellow from the Taiwan Research Institution, said, "The high number of invalid votes can be explained by voter confusion about the recent change in ballot marking rules by the CEC and by the invalid vote movement. As to deceit by the CEC, I personally feel that there is no way there could have been fraud."

  Bribery

  Explaining that because of experience with election bribery from Taiwan's past, Liao stated that the CEC is one of the most knowledgeable organizations in the world about possible methods of ballot compromise, and thus was unlikely not to have spotted instances of fraud or to have committed such actions themselves. In support, Nancy Fleming, an American Taiwanese who had witnessed a polling station closing on Saturday, said, "It was very clean. I think that the Taiwanese should help run the next US election."

  Liao, also a professor at National Defense University, also replied to the pan-blue camp's claim that the activation of the emergency response system on Friday night after the assassination attempt on President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) was a ploy by the green camp to significantly affect the outcome of the election.

  "It is pretty normal for about one-ninth of military personnel to be on call at all times during elections. The number of personnel on duty during this election was not significantly more than then in previous elections. There were many less than the 200,000 claimed by Lien and Soong," he said.

  The speakers also countered the blue camp's doubts about the assassination attempt, reiterating that there was no way Chen could have mobilized and sworn to secrecy the hundreds of people, from hospital to security personnel, needed to rig such an event.

  The academics yesterday also lambasted the pan-blue leaders' call for the government to issue an "emergency decree," saying the thousands of demonstrators in front of the presidential office do not qualify as a legitimate cause to declare a state of emergency in the country.

  Emergency decree

  Michael Tai (戴正德), vice chairman of the Central Taiwan Society, yesterday said "even during the SARS outbreak last year [which had claimed some 80 lives in Taiwan], the government did not announce an emergency decree nor did the opposition parties asked the government to do so. Why did they make such a demand now when the circumstances of emergency seem less legitimate than an epidemic outbreak?"

  Tai said it is understandable the pan-blue supporters gathered in front of the presidential office needed to let off steam and vent frustration because their ticket did not win the election, but the majority of Taiwanese people will not endure an indefinite demonstration which might later cause a counter-demonstration.

  Limits

  "Those supporting A-bian and believing in our legal system endure and suppress their anger for the time being by saying nothing, but this endurance will have its limit. If Lien and Soong continue to level unreasonable demands, the Taiwanese people's anger may boil over and could lead to a bloody encounter between the two camps," Tai said.

  Tai pointed out a fist-fight broke out in the Taipei American School yesterday morning when students supporting the two different political camps brawled over the voting dispute.

  Citing the school brawl as an example of growing social division, Tai urged the pan-blue leaders to stop further dividing society by manipulating the people to achieve their own political objectives.

  Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲), vice chairman of the National Health Research Institutes Forum and former minister of health, yesterday said Lien and Soong's vote-rigging accusations and suspicions over a fabricated assassination attempt on President Chen had offended the legal, medical and electoral authorities by discrediting them.

  "How could doctors manufacture fake medical reports of Chen's wounds? The electoral workers, who mostly are school teachers and are known as more pro-blue, have also felt largely disgraced by having doubts cast on their objectivity. The blue camp would lose their supporters by instigating social unrest like this," Twu said.

  He said Lien's intention to extend the demonstrations was aimed at preventing Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) from succeeding to the top of the KMT and to get more time to ensure his leadership of the party was unhurt.

  "Lien is unwilling to relinquish his power to Ma and the younger generation of politicians of the KMT. By procrastinating in ending the unrest, Lien could cash in on the social chaos to consolidate his leadership in the party," Twu said.
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