Nearly 2,000 protesters waving red and blue Taiwanese flags and chanting "shame" on Saturday called for an independent probe into Taiwan's disputed national election.
"We want a recount," retired accountant Robert Chi said as he clutched US and Taiwanese flags, apparently unaware that the president had already said there would be a recount. "We want the president to hear us. He lied."
The rally was part of a series of protests in the US that echoed protests in Taiwan. Nearly a half-million people gathered in Taipei on Saturday to protest the results of the March 20 election that opponents say was rigged by President Chen Shui-bian (
In Los Angeles, protesters from as far away as Phoenix gathered for about two hours in a parking lot in the city's bustling Chinatown neighborhood. They waved banners that said "Recount the ballots" and "Justice, truth, fairness" as music and speeches blared over loudspeakers.
Police estimated the crowd reached about 1,800 people.
"It's not a justified and fair election,'' said Terry Lee, a protest coordinator who worked for People First Party candidate James Soong (
"All the polls showed [Chen] should have lost the election," Lee said, apparently unaware that several polls indicated the race was too close to call in the weeks prior to the election.
An afternoon rally was also planned in San Francisco.
"I think they should have a whole new election," said Sherrien Shui, a Los Angeles wedding planner who was born in Taiwan.
Wearing a yellow headband that said "Justice," she compared the circumstances around the election, including the assassination attempt, to "a movie, a play, that he [Chen] directed himself."
Although pan-blue leaders have made similar claims, they have given no evidence to support such conspiracy theories.
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