The anti-President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) campaign sent 10 A-bian dolls to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday as a gift for the party's 20th anniversary to urge it to draw a line between the party and Chen.
The dolls were some of the items Chen's campaign team produced to help win him support ahead of the 2000 presidential election.
"This is proof that many of Chen's campaign supporters used to support the DPP. Now they have donated the dolls because they are ashamed of the party," Chien Hsi-chieh, deputy commander of the anti-Chen camp said yesterday at the Taipei Railway Station.
The camp has called on people to donate their A-bian memorabilia, such as A-bian hats and A-bian dolls, to "celebrate the birthday of the DPP."
Chien said the idea was not to mock the DPP, but to call on the party to reflect upon itself and join the anti-corruption camp.
"We also want the president to ponder why the people who supported him in 2000 detest him now," said Liu Kuan-li (
The camp's leader, former DPP chairman Shih Ming-teh (
"Some local DPP chiefs fought against the government for democracy before. Now that they have power, they won't allow differing voices in their cities and counties," he said, adding that the the DPP had lost its ideals.
The Shih campaign began a nationwide tour yesterday, leaving Taipei for Hsinchu. Chien said the camp would "break out of the DPP's obstruction and hold creative local protests."
Meanwhile, a red car which was smashed during an anti-Chen protest in Tainan on Sept. 19 was sent to the Taipei Railway Station's south plaza -- where Shih's supporters have set up camp -- to commemorate the attack, according to camp member Lu Tai-nian (呂台年).
An overseas Taiwanese who lives in Houston, Texas, surnamed Fan, bought the car for NT$550,000 after it was put up for sale in an online auction.
Lu said Fan has donated the car to the Shih camp.
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