Opposition supporters to rally against gov’t

The organizers are asking participants not to display or chant anything in support of Chen, who along with his family, is being embroiled in a money laundering scandal.

Participants have also been advised to simply chant “Go, Taiwan” in response to any possible anti-Chen reproach from bystanders along the route of the march in downtown Taipei.

The organizers are anxiously trying to prevent the Chen scandal from undermining the legitimacy of the rally, or divert attention from the issues they are addressing.

The Taiwan Society, which organized the protest, means to highlight President Ma Ying-jeou’s poor governance and failure to improve the economy as he had promised while campaigning for the presidency.

The momentum for the anti-Ma campaign had been picking up fast amid the president’s free-falling popularity ratings up to when the Chen scandal erupted mid-August. The campaign has since deflated, with calls emerging that the rally be called off.

The scandal has dealt yet another heavy blow on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which is still licking its wounds from the heavy losses in the presidential and legislative elections earlier this year.

But Lo Chih-cheng, secretary general of the Taiwan Society, said yesterday they expect strong attendance for the demonstration. Participants are coming from all walks of life, and they are willing to cover their own travel expenses, Lo claimed.

Cheng Wen-tsang, director of the DPP’s public relations department, said participants are evenly spread out in terms of age, background, education, and regions. He said it is an indication of the general discontent for the Ma administration.

Cheng said as of yesterday, 500 bus-loads of supporters from southern and central Taiwan had registered for the rally, which will also see many more participants from the Greater Taipei area.

Some DPP heavyweights have voiced that, although the demands of the protest are legitimate, the party should spend more time contemplating its own faults.

Former DPP Legislator Lin Cho-shui said he will not take part in the demonstration. “The ordinary people have the legitimacy to reproach Ma,” Lin said. “The DPP, after such a scandal, however, should stay home and contemplate its faults.”

“The DPP should be doing its best to win back the people’s trust. It should wait until more momentum is accumulated before faulting Ma,” Lin said.

Former DPP Legislator Lee Wen-chung said while it is the people’s rights to speak out their demands, the timing is not right. The anti-Ma campaign may be misunderstood as an action in support of Chen, Lee said.

He expressed worries that the rally may develop into conflicts between the pro-Chen and anti-Chen sides. The United Evening News said DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen is mulling ways to assert a break between the party and Chen.

Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos Respond to this email