Was this a legit story that just happened to run on April 1, or was it a joke?
[quote]Taiwan Opposition Threatens Endless Protests
Thu Apr 1, 2004
TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan’s opposition, shifting focus from demands for a presidential poll recount, warned of protests for the next four years if an inquiry was not held into an assassination attempt on President Chen Shui-bian. . .
“We sincerely urge President Chen not to underestimate the people’s will and misjudge the situation,” Lin Feng-cheng, secretary general of the Nationalist Party, told reporters. “If doubts cannot be cleared, there will be endless protests over the next four years,” Lin said. . . . reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtm … ID=4720243[/quote]
I don’t get it. Wasn’t the focus of the March 27 protest a demand for a recount. . . even though Chen had already agreed to a recount? And now this Lin guy is threatening 4 years of continuous protests unless Chen agrees to an inquiry into the assasination attempt. . . even though a team of US forensics experts just performed such an inquiry and concluded that Chen was shot in an apparent assasination attempt.
Do “senior KMT officials” not read the news? Is there anything that would satisfy them short of reversing the election results? Already the Blues demanded a recount of only the Green votes. Is Lin now demanding an official inquiry by “unbiased” KMT forensics experts only? Will 50,000 people really stand in the rain today? Will they stand there continuously for the next 4-years? Will Mayor Ma force them to quit making a public nuisance?
It’s interesting that it rains when the blue boys are in town.
The blue camp is unreasonable and desperate - but well, in that moment Lien Chan admits defeat, I would think that his throne will start to wobble. that’s as good a reason to behave like a crybaby like any.
This all bodes well for the DPP’s election chances in 2008.
The best-case scenario from their perspective is that Lien Chan will stay in control of the pan-blue movement, after continuing in this vein for four years. They’re already losing a lot of support over this, I think.
Second-best would be a break-up of the pan-blues into squabbling factions. (I say “second-best” because this might hurt the DPP in the long-term, if some of the factions eventually turn out to be more competitive than their predecessor.) Of course the DPP have to come up with a leader as well, which could cause problems for them.
Precisely. Nothing will satisfy them short of reversing the election outcome any possible way they can. Just look at this quote from the article: “If our appeal fails to get a positive response, President Chen and his ruling party must take full responsibility for any consequences”
To them a “positive response” is a new election and nothing short of it.
In the meantime keep crying fowl:
Demand that Chen agree to a recount and when he immediately does keep demanding that he agree to a recount.
Demand an investigation into the assassination attempt and when one is underway with international experts that their empty-headed leader demanded participate, form a large demonstration to keep demanding an investigation that is already happening.
Keep changing the focus, switch the topic, divert attention, demonize Chen any way possible, threaten, menace, be outraged at the smallest of “voting irregularities”, take advantage of the sucker international media to try to achieve legitimization.
Bottom line: From now until inauguration day (and yes, beyond) they will be relentless in their accusations, demands and protests. However, after inauguration day Lien will eventually have to step down as KMT party head (Soong however will hang on and try to build the PFP based almost entirely on the above B.S. and try for a miracle run in four years against Ma), life will begin to go on again and the noise will gradually (though never totally) die down.
Amazing restraint on the part of Taipei’s cops tonight, but I guess they know which side their bread is buttered on. Mayor Ma sends his deputy to plead for the mob to go home, to no avail.
The callers on the more pro-DPP TV shows signal that the rank and file are rapidly losing patience with this bs and want to do something to show their support for A-Bian…
Comic relief provided by the ex-naval officer who went out in uniform and masqueraded as the support for the crowd from the armed forces. We’ll be seeing him in court pretty soon for impersonation. From the merely comical on into the sublime…
The TV this morning is showing protestors tearing up barriers outside the Presidential Palace, throwing them at the police and scuffling and fighting with the police. It seems to be mostly younger people.
Others are taunting the police outside the KMT HQ.
It’s gonna a get a whole lot worse unless the KMT leaders (and the mayor) restore calm.
[quote]Police chased after several protestors, among them the right-wing former Taipei county councillor Chin Chieh-shou, who fled into the headquarters of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT).
The police action triggered a protest from the KMT.
“We want to file a strong protest to the Ministry of the Interior. How can police arrest people in our building,” a KMT official said.[/quote]
Yeah, don’t the police know that KMT headquarters is sacred ground, and that all who make it within that hallowed sanctuary are not subject to the laws of mere mortals?
[quote]Police chased after several protestors, among them the right-wing former Taipei county councillor Chin Chieh-shou, who fled into the headquarters of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT).
The police action triggered a protest from the KMT.
“We want to file a strong protest to the Ministry of the Interior. How can police arrest people in our building,” a KMT official said.[/quote]
Yeah, don’t the police know that KMT headquarters is sacred ground, and that all who make it within that hallowed sanctuary are not subject to the laws of mere mortals? [/quote]
That was my initial take on the statements, but watching the footage again it seems his point was that they were inside the building, and they shouldn’t be arrested simply for being inside the building. I think he conveniently forgot that those arrested and dragged out had done something outside to deserve that…
Because I don’t believe there was an existing thread on the subject. There was a thread on Chen getting shot, one on the recount, one on the 3/27 demonstration (which had accumulated many pages and deteriorated into off-topic ethnic insults), but I don’t think there was a thread on the small gathering of nutcase wackos that wish to protest continuously for a reversal of the election on any absurd and baseless grounds they can imagine, regardless of the actual state of the facts and the law.
And I understand the situation a little better now then I did when I started this thread. Yesterday I went sightseeing with my mom, and after touring the CKS mausoleum, we exited through the giant blue gates, where a handful of addled protesters were gathered: a few geriatric mainlanders holding protest signs, some middle-aged ladies with flag tatoos on their cheeks, a couple of toy poodles in KMT sweaters, a cripple with KMT flags on his scooter and a few opportunist food vendors. Hardly a massive groundswell of populist dissension.
Crossing the street to KMT corporate HQ, we saw maybe 2 dozen party faithful mingling in front, and as we tried to walk past, an agitated Taiwanese man of about 45 approached and asked if I wanted to know what it was all about. Sure, I replied. How long have you been in Taiwan he asked. A few days, I lied. So he begin attempting to explain in slurred speech his vague tales devoid of specifics of how the election was rigged and controlled by the DPP, and how the DPP plays dirty tricks. In a matter of minutes, though I only played dumb and asked questions of him without arguing, a crowd of KMT lackeys was circling around us, suspicious of this outsider, looking like they were itching for a fight, and my mom grew nervous and nudged me to leave, so unfortunately I did not have a chance to hear how Chen had staged his assasination.
I didn’t have the chance to witness the 3/27 festivities, but I’m glad I finally got out there, to see that there does not appear to be a massive crowd of incensed citizens but merely a few dozen oddballs, misfits and wackos – no more than you would see walking a few blocks down Market Street in San Francisco.
[quote]Are the hunger strikers still going or has that come to an end now?
[/quote]
I think it was about a week ago that they said they were going to call it off out of concern for the health of their members. (12 hours without food was obviously taking its toll).
They are not fasting any more. Some students and other people are holding a vigil (jingzuo) at the same location - under the gate to the Chiang Kaishek Memorial Hall. People are making speeches, singing and having discussions. The scene looks quite different now that the KMT, PFP and NP are no longer directly involved.
On Saturday groups of people went “strolling” in the direction of the President’s palace. Apparently the same kind of activity is lined up for next Saturday.
The next exciting installment will be a workers’ demonstration on International Labour Day - 1 May.
The protest that was going on at the gate of the CKS memorial moved to the KMT headquarters last week. I passed there on Tuesday night (18 May) and was surprised to see quite a lot of people there. They told me they are expecting to be cleared away by police in the early hours of Wednesday (19 May - the day before the presidential inauguration.) A crane was there putting up a giant banner reading "no president until we get the truth (You zhenxiang cai you zongtong.)
I am quite surprised that the authorities controling activities at the good doctors memorial would allow a political rally. I don’t believe it has ever been done there before. I wonder how many palms the KMT had to grease?
Is Lin now demanding an official inquiry by “unbiased” KMT forensics experts only? 
