2006-09-16

Taiwan protests

Tens of thousands of Taiwanese protesters took to Taipei's streets in a bid to step up the pressure on embattled President Chen Shui-bian to resign over alleged corruption. They marched a 5.5-kilometer route circling Chen's office and nearby residence amid downpours caused by an approaching typhoon.

I love the melody of this song "圍城之歌 Song of Siege"


Apple Daily commentary (Pu Dazhong)

  • 看到倒扁、挺扁雙方的領導人都誠懇呼籲和平、反暴力和互相尊重,令人十分欣慰。這才是台灣的未來、台灣的希望,才是有資格質疑總統的高格調現代公民。
  • Seeing the leaders from both sides sincerely appeal for peace, non-violence and mutal respect, we are both happy and relieved. This is Taiwan's future, Taiwan's hope. These are the high calibre modern citizens who deserve the right to question the president.


From the pro-DPP Liberty Times: 台上激情 台下冷靜 一堂成功的民主教育課 A Successful Lesson in Democracy

  • 不管你支不支持倒扁,這是一堂成功的民主教育課程!...政治活動情緒可以激昂,暴力衝突更可以避免!學會了不同政治訴求的人互相尊重,這是台灣民主進程的驕傲,也是未來各項政治活動的指標!政治訴求能否達成,或許已不是最主要的重點,所有參與活動者展現的成熟民主素養,讓全台灣共同接受一堂成功的民主教育洗禮,才是最令人激賞的內涵。

Yes, this is democracy and freedom of expression. Whether KTGL will become EDSA III, this is a good lesson for those in power on the other side of the Strait.

So here are the beautiful citizens in the island of Taiwan.









Singer/actress Vivian Hsu wore red in a separate occasion, allegedly showing her support for the protest.


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And more



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Related videos:
1) Huang Xinjie, ex-DPP president who inspired Fan Keqin.
2) 鋼鐵的心
3) 倒扁圍城之夜實錄 (All the video on that night)
4) Ms Meng Guangmei marched 孟广美也倒扁

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Update: See ESWN's great analysis on the lesson of popular movement in Taiwan this week. I have been skeptical of Shih Mingteh's and the whole campaign, and avoided to reach conclusion or side with either camp. But this is such a brilliant executed campaign, and the 360-1000k people just cannot be wrong. I mean, how can 1M people in an urban area of less than 2.6M (+4M if including Keelung, Taipei County) be "anti-democratic"?
As HK political analyst said, "Democracy is not about party politics, it is about the power of people. If HK people can depose Tung Chee-hua by showing our foot-voting, it is democracy for HK."
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7 comments:

Sun Bin said...

Quick comment.

The pro-Bian demonstration is going to start soon. It seems there is some minor violence with reporters from CTN and ETV already. No surprise, since the pro-Bian demonstrators are more radical and fundamentalists, hence more likely to resort to extreme means.

Once there is larger scale violence, in stark contrast with the peaceful protests the previous night, Ah Bian will be over.

Michael Turton said...

You're comical, Sun. "More radical and fundamentalist"...meanwhile, at the head of the pro-Blue protest was James Soong, recipient of a $400 million kickback and defender of violence against democracy activists in the 80s, and Ma Ying-jeou, student spy, and of course, the Bamboo Union gangs and all the other taipei gangs. And hwo about that Lin Cheng-chien, beating up a democracy supporter on a TV talk show, in business with Chang An-lo, one of the island's most notorious gangsters.

In any case, gangs dressing in green and attacking reporters is par for the course for the KMT, and old trick that dates back almost three decades.

"more radical." Bwahahahaha. The radicals are people, so many still revered, who murdered tens of thousands of locals in their quest to retain power, and have shut down governance on Taiwan merely because they can't stand the thought of an ethnic Taiwanese president. It's the authoritarians who are radicals, Sun.

Michael

Sun Bin said...

1) show me evidence that Ma was a student spy, and your other allegations, etc.

2) i have zero respect for soong. but let's face it, following CSB's logic, until you are sentenced, you are not guilty.

3) ethnic taiwan? you mean he is the austro/polynesian aborigine? hmm, i didn't know that. maybe they should pass a bumiputra law like malaysia did.

Sun Bin said...

Of course these demonstrators are more radical and fundamentalist than the usual pro-Green supporter. They are a lot more enthusiatic because they travelled 300km north to do this.

There are, of course, also radical and fundamemtalist Blue (also radical Green like Shih) among the anti-corruption demonstators, perhaps some 60k of them. This is my reasoning. The blue:green supporter ratio in taiwan is about 50:50 in taiwan (2004 vote), perahps 60:40 now due to the disappointment in CSB. Usually those who take to the street are at the end of each spectrum. So when you see demonstration turn-out of 6:1, you know Green got its 1st to 5th percentile, and Shit got the 1st-30th percentile, which group is more radical on average?

Sun Bin said...

Michael,

This is a "video of the "gangs dressing in green and attacking reporters". Watch for yourself and tell me if the legislator Wang Shi-jian (as a mediator) is KMT and if this is KMT stages.

No more disinformation, please.

Tim Maddog said...

Wow! That's almost as bad as that stuff at the airport when young gang members with actual weapons beat up old people (for "being Taiwanese in Taiwan") and left them in pools of blood!

Or this, where a female pan-green supporter uses her face (to the point of unconsciousness -- of all the nerve!) in an unsuccessful attempt to damage the (paci-)fist of a kind-hearted red-shirted hyphen-ated anti-Chen employee. [/sarcasm]

Violence is not good from either side, but Sun Bin and his ilk need to get some perspective. Read a little bit about pan-blue violence here.

Barely a parody-phrase of the pan-blues: "Watch out! Those green-shirts might defend themselves! We'd better beat them up first!"

Tim Maddog

Sun Bin said...

Tim,

Are you talking about "staged with disguised clothing" or "accused people who are staged with disguised clothing"?

Whatever your agenda is. My response above was to MT's statement (or insinuation?) that KMT sent out "gangs dressed in green and attacking reporters". You are welcome to provide evidence.