TAIWAN: Tens of thousands protest against Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou's increasingly warm relations with Beijing

Record ID: 624077

  • Title: TAIWAN: Tens of thousands protest against Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou's increasingly warm relations with Beijing
  • Date: 18th May 2009
  • Summary: TAIPEI, TAIWAN (MAY 17, 2009) (REUTERS) PROTESTERS ON TAIPEI STREET PROTESTERS GATHERING PROTESTERS WITH BANNERS PROTESTERS RAISING THEIR HANDS FOR BLESSING AND PRAYER PROTESTERS IN FRONT OF A DEPARTMENT STORE PROTESTERS HOLDING UP BANNERS AND SIGNS DRAWINGS ON THE FACE OF PRESIDENT MA YING-JEOU A PROTESTER CARRYING AN UMBRELLA WITH NEWS CLIPS NEWS CLIPS ABOUT THE PROTEST (SOUNDBITE) (Taiwanese) 50-YEAR-OLD CHEN MING CHU SAYING: "Everybody knows if the government does well or not, but they are selling off our sovereignty. In the past eight years we didn't have to worry about losing our sovereignty but now it becomes our greatest fear. Economy is a global problem so we can forgive the government, but selling off out sovereignty we will never forgive." (SOUNDBITE) (English) 50-YEAR-OLD RESEARCH SCIENTIST MICHAEL CHEN SAYING: "The current government's policy, everything they don't ask the Taiwanese people's opinions. So they just decide what they wanted to do and basically their policy is biased to China. Like open the market, I don't know they asked Taiwanese people or not, my feeling is no." LEGISLATORS SHOUTING "TAIWAN YES" ON A CAMPAIGN TRUCK LEGISLATORS SHOUTING "CHINA NO" ON A CAMPAIGN TRUCK PROTESTERS WITH SIGNS AND BANNERS CROWD MARCHING ON TAIPEI STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin)53-YEAR-OLD CHEN SHU-CHING SAYING: "For example ECFA (Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement), nobody understands. They only talk about the benefits, but what about the downside? I don't know. Also the unemployed population, the young people who can't find jobs after graduation, this is a serious problem." PROTESTERS ON THE STREET PROTESTERS WAVING FLAGS PROTESTER HOLDING UP BANNERS PROTESTERS WALKING ON THE STREET
  • Embargoed: 2nd June 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVANIVGXMXRR7HWVBJ5ANE64RLU
  • Story Text: Tens of thousands opposed to Taiwan's improving ties with rival China took the the streets on Sunday (May 17) the third such rally over the past year.
    Demonstrators packed arterial streets in Taipei from early afternoon to march peacefully on the presidential office. Some wore shirts that accused Ma Jing-yeou of "selling Taiwan" to China or portraying the president as a devil, while others waved Taiwan independence flags and signs linking Ma to the F-word.
    "Everybody knows if the government does well or not, but they are selling off our sovereignty. In the past eight years we didn't have to worry about losing our sovereignty but now it becomes our greatest fear. Economy is a global problem so we can forgive the government, but selling off out sovereignty we will never forgive," said 50-year-old Chen Ming-chu.
    "The current government's policy, everything they don't ask the Taiwanese people's opinions. So they just decide what they wanted to do and basically their policy is biased to China. Like open the market, I don't know they asked Taiwanese people or not, my feeling is no," said 50-year-old research scientist Michael Chen, who resides in Washington D.C. but comes back to Taiwan for the protest.
    China has claimed self-ruled Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong's Communists won the Chinese civil war and Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists (KMT) fled to Taiwan. Beijing has vowed to bring the island under its rule, by force if necessary.
    Since Ma took office in May 2008, his government has signed trade and transit deals with economic powerhouse China to help Taiwan's sagging economy and make peace with Beijing.
    But the peaceful demonstration, which was organised by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, will not hurt Ma, analysts say. Ma has said he would not change course, while the opposition lacks votes in parliament to oust him.
    Ma said he hoped that everyone will leave peacefully after the protest emphasizing that all of the talks with mainland China are done on the premises of equality and respect, without losing sovereignty.
    Protest organisers claimed 600,000 people participated in the rally in Taipei and the southern city of Kaohsiung but officials and witnesses estimated a turnout was around 50,000.
    Some demonstrators also accused Ma of not being transparent about what Taiwan's ties with Beijing. Others said he has bungled the economy, which slipped into recession in February, joining other export-driven Asian markets.
    "For example ECFA (Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement), nobody understands. They only talk about the benefits, but what about the downside? I don't know. Also the unemployed population, the young people who can't find jobs after graduation, this is a serious problem," said 53-year-old Chen Shu-ching.
    Similar mass demonstrations against Ma took place in August and October last year. A smaller, more violent one coincided with a meeting in November between Ma and China's top negotiator.
    Some demonstrators plan to camp overnight into Monday (May 18) outside the presidential offices and defy an order to clear the streets by 1400 GMT.
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