Two weeks after Typhoon Morakot struck, a flurry of Internet debate has emerged on whether the “Red-Shirted Army” should pour into the streets again, this time to depose President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
On Sept. 9, 2006, thousands of red-clad protesters each donated NT$100, walked the streets and held a sit-in on Taipei’s Ketagalan Boulevard in an “anti-corruption campaign” aimed at ousting then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
The campaign lasted about six months.
Yesterday, one of about a dozen former anti-Chen campaign organizers, Chuang Yen (莊嚴), caused heated debate after he posted an article on his blog that alluded to the current and former presidents, saying that “while the one going out embezzled our money, the one coming in is claiming our lives.”
Chuang urged former fans of Ma, who “donated their NT$100 [to fund the activities to depose Chen], wore a red shirt and walked on Ketagalan Boulevard” to take to the streets again.
In his article, he wrote, “Sept. 9, let’s make a date to depose Ma Ying-jeou [the last character in the president’s name means “nine”] … Over five hundred souls of the dead are calling on us to do so.”
As the anti-Chen campaign did not result in Chen’s stepping down, Chuang said in his article that the purpose of the anti-Ma action would not be to lead to Ma’s resignation, but to make the people’s voices heard, because, “after all, the government will need to shoulder the responsibility for the post-disaster reconstruction work.”
In response, some Web users supported Chuang’s idea, saying that Ma “needs to know that it is not easy to be Taiwan’s president.”
“Since the economy is so bad right now, we should get discounts for the anti-Ma campaign; everyone should donate NT$99 to depose Ma,” another Web user wrote.
However, others criticized Chuang’s actions as likely to fail.
“How do you expect to succeed in an anti-Ma action in mostly pan-blue Taipei City?” one wrote.
Asked to comment on the matter, Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) said that the current priority should be disaster relief, rather than demanding that anyone step down.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) added that the proposal was “laughable.”
“This is so frivolous! Now is the time to employ all the nation’s resources in disaster relief … Did the anti-Chen campaign actually lead to Chen Shui-bian’s resignation? Stop making a [political] show!” she said.
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