A crowd yesterday marched in Taipei to rally support for US President Donald Trump and show opposition to the Chinese Communist Party.
At the parade organized by Epoch Media Group — publisher of the Epoch Times and affiliated with Falun Gong — participants carried placards with slogans such as: “Taiwan-US cooperation, we support Trump to dispose communist China” and “Taiwan, Fight for Trump.”
Some signs echoed messages used by Trump supporters who believe he won the US election last month, with phrases such as: “Stop the Steal” and “Make America Great Again.”
Photo: Jason Pan, Taipei Times
Despite Trump’s claims of election fraud, the US Electoral College on Monday affirmed US president-elect Joe Biden’s victory, awarding him 306 electoral votes — more than the 270 needed to win — to Trump’s 232. The result still must be confirmed by a joint session of the US Congress on Jan. 6.
With drums and music, the march traveled several blocks around Taipei 101, ending at a nearby plaza, where talks and music videos were presented and streamed online.
Event organizers estimated that about 8,000 people turned out for the event.
“Without US protection, Taiwan would not have its freedom, and instead we would be slaves ruled by communist China. Trump is the best US president for Taiwan, signing laws to have officials visit and sell US weapons for us to fend off a Chinese military attack,” pro-Taiwan independence campaigner Rishen Wu (吳日昇) said at the march.
In the crowd, an American, who identified himself as Jerry, said he was touched to see so many Taiwanese at the rally.
“Trump knows what it takes to counter China’s military adventurism. He has done the most for Taiwan, safeguarding its freedom and democracy... For Biden, I am not so sure if he will defend Taiwan so strongly like Trump has done in recent years,” he said.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Friday condemned Chinese and Russian authorities for escalating regional tensions, citing Chinese warplanes crossing the Taiwan Strait’s median line and joint China-Russia military activities breaching South Korea’s air defense identification zone (KADIZ) over the past two days. A total of 30 Chinese warplanes crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Thursday and Friday, entering Taiwan’s northern and southwestern airspace in coordination with 15 naval vessels and three high-altitude balloons, the MAC said in a statement. The Chinese military also carried out another “joint combat readiness patrol” targeting Taiwan on Thursday evening, the MAC said. On
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