Sun, May 16, 2004 page3

• Taiwan Quick Take

  • STAFF WRITER WITH AGENCIES
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  ■ Politics

  Anti-Chen rally in New York

  More than 200 Taiwanese-Americans on Friday denounced the re-election of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), using the term "stolen presidency." The group held a protest near UN headquarters in New York, holding banners and posters that called for an inquiry into the assassination attempt against Chen and his running mate Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) on the eve of the election. Chen's opponents accused him of staging the shooting in order to gain sympathy from voters. A statement handed out by the protesters said that the election was "unfair and anti-democratic." The demonstrators, who waved Taiwanese and US flags, held banners that said, "Taiwan Fraud Election," "Stolen Presidency in Taiwan" and "Liar, Liar, Liar A-bian (阿扁)." The lunch-hour protest ended without incident. The demonstrators claimed that more than 330,000 "invalid ballots" had been discovered since the recount began.

  ■ Diplomacy

  US state backs WHA bid

  The New York State Assembly unanimously passed a resolution in support of Taiwan's bid to join the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer, according to the head of a Taiwanese-American group. The resolution, which was passed Wednesday, recognizes contributions made by Taiwanese-Americans to the US, and recognizes their efforts to promote Taiwan's bid to join the WHA as an observer, said Wu Ming-kee, president of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs. Copies of the resolution were sent to US President George W. Bush, the US Department of Health and Human Services and WHO headquarters in Geneva. The resolution was initiated by New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and co-signed by New York State Assembly members Richard Gottfried, Barry Grodenchik, Catherine Nolan and Earlene Hooper, Wu said.

  ■ Hakka affairs

  League established

  During an annual conference on Hakka college organizations, the establishment of the National Collegiate Hakka League (全國大學客家聯合會) was announced. The league aims to encourage exchanges of Hakka culture among universities and to plan intercollegiate Hakka events. More specifically, league representatives said that the league has three main goals: to encourage Hakka youth to embrace their heritage and introduce Hakka culture to non-Hakka people; to establish a forum for discussion of Hakka issues among colleges; and to pool the resources of Hakka associations and groups in universities nationwide. The founding of the league is the result of months of planning, research and consultation. The league is made up of students from National Taiwan University, National Taiwan Normal University, National Chengchi University and Chinese Culture University, and encourages individuals with and without Hakka heritage to become members.

  ■ Earthquake

  Temblor rattles Ilan

  An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 on the Richter scale rocked northeastern Taiwan yesterday. No damage was reported. Central Weather Bureau officials said the epicenter of the quake was 18.8km east-northeast of the Ilan seismic station in Ilan County and originated 91.7km below the earth's surface. The quake, which occurred at 1:07pm, had an intensity of 3.0 in Newdou, Ilan County and Shihtang, Miaoli County; 2.0 in Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Hualien counties; and 1.0 in Taipei City and Changhua.
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