Hundreds of Thousands Protest Taiwan Poll Result

27/03/2004| IslamWeb

More than 300,000 people protested against the re-election of Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian as China rapped the United States for meddling in its affairs by recognising his victory. The opposition vowed a long fight and streets leading to the presidential office in the capital Taipei filled with people as the turmoil continued after the vote last Saturday that split the island. Chen's narrow victory was officially confirmed Friday but the opposition has refused to accept the result after he won by fewer than 30,000 votes, with months of continued legal wrangling in prospect. Opposition leader Lien Chan told crowds to prepare for the long haul and a demonstration on May 20, the day of Chen's inauguration, after demanding a new election. "Let us think about how to muster a greater momentum, because Mr Chen Shui-bian and his government are obviously planning to wait in comfort for an exhausted enemy," he said. "If there are still no responses in mid April and late April, that will mean he wants to invite us to the so-called inauguration ceremony. "Then maybe a lot of people will be very pleased to come and see what it is all about. We will never give up until we achieve our goal." Lien, chairman of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), alleged that vote-rigging and an unsolved assassination attempt on Chen on the eve of polling cost him the election. He polled 49.89 percent of the vote compared with Chen's 50.11 percent but has provided little evidence to back up his claims. He claimed Saturday the opposition had collected more than 1,000 complaints about voting irregularities. However, Washington Friday congratulated Chen on his victory, sparking a sharp response from China, which claims the island as part of its territory despite a split 55 years ago at the end of a civil war. "We are resolutely opposed to this US gesture, which is mistaken and constitutes an interference in Chinese internal affairs...," the Chinese foreign ministry said. "There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is a part of it," said the statement posted on the ministry's website. Chen's success was a blow to China which believes he will use his second four-year term to take the island closer to formal independence. Beijing has previously said it would invade if the island declared independence or descended into chaos. Buses arrived all morning to a rainy Taipei as a stream of speakers addressed the crowds on a stage before a backdrop proclaiming: "Democracy is dead." Some held up banners reading "Fraud" and "Recount the votes" with many wearing black underneath their raincoats in a gesture they said represented the death of democracy. Other placards referred to the "bullet-gate" scandal with demonstrators sceptical of Chen's angry insistence that the shooting was not staged, highlighting the depth of mistrust and anger between the two sides. "We are here because we want the truth," said protester Huang Chung-cheh, 38. "We want an inspection of Chen Shui-bian's wound. We want international experts to investigate this shooting." Protesters were stopped from getting within 200 metres (660 feet) of the main presidential offices by barbed wire barricades and a dozen police vans. The opposition claimed some 500,000 had joined the rally, security sources said the number was around 340,000. Nearly 5,000 officers were on duty to try to prevent a repeat of Friday's disturbances when protesters broke into the island's election body as it prepared to officially declare Chen the winner. Another 10,000 were on standby. China's top body dealing with the island, the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, said it was monitoring the situation. It said it "will not look on unconcerned should the post-election situation in Taiwan go out of control". That threat brought rare cross-party unity as the rival political camps both criticised the comments. Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, the body responsible for China policy, criticised the "rude interference" in its affairs and a KMT spokesman told China to "shut up". **PHOTO CAPTION*** More than 300,000 people protested against the re-election of Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian as China rapped the United States for meddling in its affairs by recognising his victory. (AFP/Peter Parks)