TAIWAN: Thousands march in Taiwan to support Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian

Record ID: 214829

  • Title: TAIWAN: Thousands march in Taiwan to support Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian
  • Date: 17th June 2006
  • Summary: MORE OF THE SUPPORTERS DANCING AND SINGING IN THE RALLY / CU OF OLD WOMAN WIDE OF THE RALLY PEOPLE WALKING WITH FLAGS
  • Embargoed: 2nd July 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Taiwan, Province of China
  • Country: Taiwan
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA72JKS5HHIF1FXVAZ9YW2KDTRS
  • Story Text: Thousands of people took to the streets of Taiwan's capital on Saturday (June 17) to support Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian under the crisis of his presidency by a deepening financial scandal involving with his family members.
    The rally comes as opposition parties intensify their pressure on Chen to step down after his son-in-law was detained last month on suspicion of insider trading.
    The political crisis escalated this week as the main opposition Nationalist Party decided to initiate a recall motion to dismiss Chen despite lacking the two-thirds parliamentary majority needed to push through a vote authorising a referendum on the issue.
    Supporters waved flags that read "Stabilize Politics, Make the Economy Prosperous" and shouted slogans to support President Chen. A supporter blamed China for causing political unrest.
    "We are strongly suspecting that China is that invisible hand behind the opposition party who is trying to pull down President Chen, then to create trouble in Taiwan. It's communist China's strategy," Wang Tai-ming said.
    Lin Hwa-fang, who travelled five hours to join the rally, blamed the opposition party for shaking up Taiwan's stock market.
    "The opposition party's efforts to recall the president is creating instability within Taiwan's economy. The stock market is falling and people like us are suffering," said the 41-year-old woman said.
    The Taiwanese stock market has drooped 14% since the money scandal was raised by the opposition 2 weeks ago.
    The ruling Democratic Progressive Party accuses the opposition of trying to seize power at the expense of political stability.
    In the latest poll by cable television station TVBS, 53 percent of respondents want Chen to step down and 66 percent though he was not suitable to be president.
    Chen has harshly criticised the opposition's attempts to oust him, accusing the KMT of feeling resentment due to election losses in 2000 and 2004.
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