COMPETING DEMONSTRATIONS FOR AND AGAINST PRESIDENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 000916

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2016
TAGS: PGOV TW
SUBJECT: COMPETING DEMONSTRATIONS FOR AND AGAINST PRESIDENT
CHEN

REF: TAIPEI 903

Classified By: AIT Deputy Director David Keegan,
Reasons: 1.4 (b/d)


1. (C) Summary: The ruling Democratic Progressive Party
(DPP) and pan-Green allies held a large march and rally on
Saturday March 18 to "shout out to China," support President
Chen Shui-bian, and rebuild party morale following a series
of election reverses. The event coincided roughly with the
first anniversary of a march against China's "anti-seccession
law" as well as several anniversaries of earlier events in
Taiwan's democratic development in the face of PRC
intimidation. On Sunday March 19, the opposition People
First Party (PFP) and pan-Blue allies held a rally to "shout
out to Chen Shui-bian." This rally marked the second
anniversary of the election eve shooting of Chen and Vice
President Annette Lu, an event that many pan-Blue supporters
believe was staged by Chen to "steal" the 2004 election from
then Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan and PFP Chairman
James Soong. End Summary.

DPP March and Rally: Yes to Chen, No to China
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2. (C) While claims by organizers that 170,000 supporters
participated in the DPP march and the rally at Ketagalan
Boulevard may be inflated, a variety of groups joined the
march, including various Taiwan independence organizations,
Tibetan independence activists, and Taiwan towel factory
workers protesting PRC towel "dumping." "The whole world is
watching Taiwan's democracy," read one huge banner featured
in the rally. Speakers included President Chen, Vice
President Lu, and Premier Su Tseng-chang. President Chen
asserted that the 23 million people of Taiwan should decide
their own future democratically and that unification should
not be the only option. Even if it meant his being recalled,
Chen stated, he would still "cease the
functioning/application" of the National Unification
Council/Guidlelines. For Taiwan to become a normal
democratic country, it should not only have the right of
referendums, but it must also have the right to freely choose
Taiwan's future. Chen stressed: Taiwan is a sovereign,
independent country; Taiwan's national sovereignty belongs to
the 23 million people of Taiwan; only the 23 million people
of Taiwan have the right to decide Taiwan's future; Taiwan's
national sovereignty cannot be shared, taken away, or
restricted; and the future of Taiwan cannot be decided by
China's 1.3 billion people. Although a number of marchers
carried signs calling for a new constitution, Chen did not
directly address the sensitive constitutional issue in his
remarks.

PFP Rally: How do I dislike thee? Let me count the ways
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3. (C) The PFP rally, jointly sponsored by the Anti-Arms
Procurement Alliance, drew about 20,000 participants to
Ketagalan Boulevard on Sunday, according to police estimates,
which may be high. In a lineup of speakers intended to
underscore the pan-Blue opposition's unity in "shouting out
to Chen," PFP Chairman James Soong, KMT Chairman Ma
Ying-jeou, Honorary KMT Chairman Lien Chan, KMT LY President
Wang Jin-pyng, and several legislators vied to outdo each
other in blaming Chen for every conceivable problem, even the
recent losses suffered by Taiwan's baseball team at the hands
of Korea and Japan. Ma berated President Chen for frittering
away Taiwan's economic and social advantages as he played
politics with the independence-unification issue. Lien
attributed several human rights problems discussed in the
most recent State Department Human Rights Report to Chen's
poor governance, and he also called for a new investigation
of the 3/19/2004 President Chen shooting incident to
determine &political8 in addition to criminal
responsibility. Besides echoing Lien's call for a new 3/19
investigation, Soong proclaimed his support for maintaining
the cross-Strait status quo and his opposition to
"extravagant arms purchases," which, he argued, would not be
needed if Chen stops promoting Taiwan independence.

TAIPEI 00000916 002 OF 002



Comment
--------------


4. (C) Mass marches and rallies are a standard feature of
Taiwan politics and are intended to raise the enthusiasm of
supporters. There is no pending election or similar reason
for holding these two rallies nor the KMT march and rally the
preceding Saturday. Many of the outside organizations that
joined the two rallies represented the more fundamentalist
supporters of the two parties. Both activities were peaceful
and most of the participants were older people. The high
turnout for the DPP march is explained by its major effort to
mobilize supporters from all over Taiwan as well as the very
warm, sunny weather. Participants were in a relaxed,
enthusiastic, and festive mood. Though the March 19
anti-Chen rally was far smaller, the participants were also
enthusiastic and highly vocal. In recent weeks, several PFP
legislators have defected to the larger KMT, which has caused
resentment among the PFP leadership, especially James Soong.
In a show of unity, KMT and PFP leaders have now joined
together in two demonstrations over the past two weekends,
one sponsored by the KMT and the other by the PFP. The KMT
does not want to alienate the PFP, whose cooperation is
critical in maintaining pan-Blue control of the LY, and the
PFP hopes to underscore its continued relevance, despite
shrinking numbers.
YOUNG