Student on hunger strike slams Chen

Li Wen-cheng, a student from Fu Jen Catholic University, went on a hunger strike Thursday evening. His friends and classmates are worried about him, but he asked them to stop worrying.

Many people who were not acquainted with the boy went to offer their support by keeping him company and hugging him.

“I will carry on so I can see Chen Shu-bian step down,” the student said.

Since they launched their protest, the student protesters said, President Chen has never paid any attention to them. Only Taipei Ma Ying-jeou have visited them, they observed.

The students said they were combating the state engine with willpower.

Li is the only one of the students who has not eaten anything since the protest started but said he felt fine. He indicated that he would be all right because his classmates would take care of him.

He added that he was so touched by the support he had received that he was determined to keep going.

In related news, two National Taiwan University (NTU) professors were recently summoned by police for questioning over their demonstration in CKS Memorial Hall.

Democracy has “gone awry,” said NTU professor Huang Kuang-kuo, a prominent scholar known for his criticism of the Chen Shui-bian administration.

In the wake of a series of scandals surrounding President Chen’s family and inner circle, Huang and another professor, Chang Ya-chung, staged the demonstration, dubbed “Democracy Night Market,” in CKS Memorial Hall in late June demanding Chen step down.

They did not apply for permission for their action, so police told them to leave. They left before the police raised a warning sign a third time to formally declare they had broken the law.

However, both Huang and Chang have received a notification from police telling them to go for questioning.

Chang said their protest was meant solely to press Chen to step down. It will be tragic if Taiwan continues to have a head of state like Chen until 2008, he contended.

The professor said he did not want to talk about politics, but “if the first family keeps behaving the way they have then social justice and moral standards will collapse.”

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