Angered by the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) support for a rally on Saturday designed to counter his own anti-President-Chen-Shui-bian (
"People power, which follows no tactics, is strongest. The DPP's tactics, which are intended to counter people power, are doomed to failure," Shih said during a press conference on Ketagalan Boulevard.
DPP Secretary-General Lin Chia-lung (
PHOTO: SUNG CHIH-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
As organizers hoped that some 100,000 people would participate in the event, Lin said that the DPP aimed to contribute between 20,000 and 30,000 people.
Shih, however, dismissed the mobilization as nothing but a bunch of "soulless stage props" manipulated by political parties, adding that they bore no comparison with the anti-Chen protesters, who attended the sit-in of their own free will.
"Let the DPP do it! When it mobilizes thousands of buses filled with soulless puppets, it is doing nothing but helping people see the truth more clearly," he said.
Pledging that his movement would continue to be a peaceful one, Shih once again denied that protest organizers were planning a nationwide strike. He also urged people to participate in the symbolic "siege" of the Presidential Office and the president's official Yushan Residence tomorrow night.
"The horn of history has sounded. We are all warriors. We will continue the battle until A-bian steps down," he said.
A-bian is the president's nickname.
Dismissing comments attributed to Wei Chien-fung (魏千鋒), a lawyer aligned with the anti-Chen movement, that DPP heavyweights had advised campaign organizers, Shih said that only God had guided him.
Chien Hsi-chie, deputy head of Shih's campaign, said that if Chen remained unmoved after tomorrow's "siege," 5,000 protesters would be sent to peacefully lay siege to the Presidential Office.
Meanwhile, as the sit-in campaign entered its fifth day, Jerry Fan (
The idea, which was inspired by the song Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree, is the latest gimmick suggested by Fan, who previously suggested that protesters draw inspiration from Peru's famous Nazca Lines and dress in red.
"We want to see all the trees around the country tied with red ribbons," Fan said.
Although the majority of anti-Chen protesters will move to the Taipei Railway Station on Saturday, Fan called on the Taiwan Society to cancel its rally so that about 200,000 or 300,000 anti-Chen protesters could remain in the area of Ketagalan Boulevard during the weekend.
Earlier yesterday morning, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
Wearing a red shirt, Ma led the crowd in shouting "A-bian Step Down!" in Mandarin, Taiwanese and Hakka. Ma said he had taken the opportunity to express the KMT's support for the protesters.
In response to the "siege" plan, Ma called on protesters to show self-restraint, adding that the KMT would allow its members to take part in the event as individuals.
Asked where the money for the bread and soy milk had come from, Ma, who also serves as Taipei mayor, said the KMT had paid for it.
"I went [to Ketagalan Boulevard] in my capacity as KMT chairman, to cheer protesters on behalf of the party. Of course the money [for the bread and soy milk] came from the KMT," Ma said.
However, Premier Su Tseng-chang (
Also yesterday, the Taiwan Society said it had invited Chen to take part in its rally on Saturday.
It did not invite Vice President Annette Lu (
"[Lu] has revealed her ambition to seize power [through legal maneuvering and in a manner that is full of paradoxes]and so we won't invite her," said Chet Yang (
In a statement issued last night by the Presidential Office, Lu said she would reserve her right to institute legal action against Yang whose comments Lu said "did no justice to the truth."
"I have tried my best to assist the president for the past six years. [This fact] is unquestionable," Lu's statement said.
Additional reporting by Jimmy Chuang
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have
RSS