One million votes against corruption, President Chen must go

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Campaign logo with " DEPOSE " - ("ABSETEN") - slogan
Demo poster and scarf

One million votes against corruption, President Chen must go ( Chinese 百萬 人民 反 貪腐 倒 扁 運動 / 百万 人民 反 贪腐 倒 扁 运动, Pinyin Baĭwàn Rénmín Făn Tanfŭ Daŏbiăn Yùndòng , English Million Voices against Corruption, President Chen Must Go ) was a mass movement initiated by the Taiwanese politician and co-founder of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Shih Ming-te , which was active from August 10, 2006 to October 2006, to persuade incumbent President Chen Shui-bian to resign.

background

Taiwan's political scene in 2006 was mainly split into two coalitions, first the pan-blue coalition , consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT) and two parties split off from it - the Qinmindang ('Popular Party') (PFP) and the smaller Xindang ('New Party') (CNP) and on the other hand the pan-green coalition with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), together with the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) and the smaller Taiwan Independence Party (TAIP). Since Chen Shui-bian (DPP) took office as president in 2000, the Kuomintang have made various attempts to remove him from office. In 2006, Chen and some of his family members were charged with misappropriating government funds to buy stocks.

The "One Million Votes Against Corruption, President Chen Must Go" campaign began in August 2006 when former DPP party leader Shih Ming-te asked Chen Shui-bian to resign. Shih resigned as party leader in 1995 and left the DPP in 1999 to join the pan-blue Kuomintang. In 2001, he and two other defectors to KMT, Sisy Chen and Hsu Hsin-liang, founded a pan-blue think tank called the Mountain Alliance . He also ran for Kaohsiung Mayor and Parliament, but was not elected. Since then, his political career has run its course.

preparation

On August 10, 2006, the planning of the campaigns led by Shih Ming-te began. Shih agreed to personally show the protesters through the streets if he could raise NTD 100 million for the campaign. They started the fundraiser on August 14th and they raised NTD 9,340,000 on the first day. On August 24, 2006, the fundraiser ended, and the next day Shih announced that the campaign had raised NTD111,211,563 and that he was ready to attend the demonstration in person.

Meanwhile, pan-green supporters criticized the Shih campaign. Letters were found from Shih while he was imprisoned for political offenses asking the government for leniency. It was also revealed that Shih, despite his anti-corruption efforts, had ties to the founder and chairman of the Tuntex Group, Chen Yu-hao , who was one of the republic's biggest and best-known embezzlers and was among the republic's 10 most wanted refugees. Chen Yu-hao was known for opposing President Chen. There were also allegations about Shih's personal finances and that it was an instrument of the People's Republic of China . This suspicion could not be confirmed.

On September 5, 2006, Shih Ming-te held a press conference to respond to statements made by Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang . The Prime Minister had said, among other things, that " the government [...] will not tolerate the protests" ( "the government [...] will not tolerate the protest" ).

The demonstrations

A volunteer distributed red scarves to other demonstrators on September 16, 2006

First sit-ins

On September 9, 2006, the first demonstrators gathered at the President's office. They set themselves up in the form of a compass to show their will for further integration of the people into the government. Free meals were distributed by the organizers and various performances took place. For example, children performed excerpts from the Great Study , an ancient text by Confucius . The organizers estimated the number of participants at 300,000, the local police at 90,000. The demonstrators dressed in red to express their anger, pointed their thumbs down as a sign of disapproval and shouted “Ah-Bian, step down!” ( Chinese  「阿扁 ， 下台！」 , Pinyin Ābiǎn, Xiàtái , English Ah-Bian, step down! )

Various pro-blue national celebrities and pan-blue politicians (current and former) attended the events, as well as ROC citizens and foreigners of all ages.

The “surround the city” protest march through Taipei on September 15, 2006

The "encircle the city" protest across Taipei

On the night of September 15, 2006, the demonstrators organized the “Surround the City” protest ( Chinese 圍城 / 围城, Pinyin Weíchéng , English surround the city ) with red glow sticks to symbolically prevent Chen from leaving the city.

Spokesman for the MRT (Taipei) promised that the trains would continue until 1am. The next day, the railway booked a record of 1.51 million passengers on the night of the protest, as the train stations were the starting point and resting point of the march. Critics argue that the protest caused high levels of street pollution and great wear and tear on the MRT lanes. These costs would be passed on to the citizen on whose back this protest was held, even if they had not consented to the protests.

The "Circle the Island" protest across Taiwan

After the "encircle the city" protest, Shih Ming-te led a group of volunteers through each major city in a tour bus to take part in local demos. ( Chinese 環島 遍地開花 / 环岛 遍地开花, Pinyin Huándaŏ Piàndì Kaīhuā ) The organizers announced that they would hold an anti-Chen protest every day in October 2006. The protests were mostly peaceful, but there were incidents of violence, particularly in conflicts with pro-green supporters in southern Taiwan.

The siege of the presidential office

The siege of the President's office

On October 10, 2006, the Republic of China's national holiday commemorating the Wuchang uprising , the demonstrators returned to Ketagalan Avenue to besiege the President's office ( Chinese 天下 圍攻 / 天下 围攻, Pinyin Tiānxià Weígōng , English defeat of the rule  - "Siege of the law") without first requesting permission from the police. Chen was disturbed by MPs from the pan-blue coalition at an honorary ceremony for foreign dignitaries, and there were fistfights between MPs from the pan-blue and pan-green coalitions. As a result, President Chen canceled the National Day celebration because "everyone has different opinions and is not considerate." ( everyone has different opinions and doesn't care ) and called the demonstrations disrespectful and illegal. He stressed his commitment to a clean and transparent policy and the unwillingness to tolerate corruption within the government. During the ceremony, the official US representative from the American Institute in Taiwan (the US ambassador to the Republic of China; see Republic of China Foreign Policy ) asked the demonstrators to “remain polite” ( Chinese 有禮貌 / 有礼貌, Pinyin yǒu Lǐmào , English to maintain politeness ).

aftermath

Shih vowed to continue demonstrating against corruption and President Chen, especially in March 2008 when the presidential election was to be held unless Chen resigned beforehand. On October 14, 2006, the Taiper police refused to hold another demonstration, claiming that the demonstration on October 30, 2006 violated city law. Shih agreed to limit the number of demonstrators at further demonstrations.

Charges against President Chen's wife

On November 3, 2006, Chen's wife Wu Shu-chen (吳淑珍) and three other senior government officials were charged with embezzling NTD 14.8 million (US $ 450,000) using forged documents from a government budget. The Constitution of the Republic of China provides that the president himself may not be charged until he has resigned from office. Chen was charged with complicity. The prosecutor announced that if Chen resigns as president, he will be summoned to court. His wife was the first first lady of the Republic of China to be charged with a criminal offense.

The pan-blue coalition called for new elections to be held immediately after the indictment became known. The pan-green coalition also provided support for a new election from the Taiwan Solidarity Union, but on the condition that “concrete evidence of the corrupt offense is presented” ( concrete evidence concerning corruption is presented ).

After an internal meeting, the party executive committee of the DPP demanded a statement by Chen within the next three days. There were also disagreements about Chen within the DPP and he was called a “ liability ”. If Chen had resigned, Prime Minister Annette Lu should have succeeded him in the presidency.

Following the prosecutor's announcement, Shih said the Depose campaign was a success and a historic highlight in Taiwan's history. He again called protesters to Ketagalan Boulevard for a sit-in.

During a press conference on November 5, 2006, Chen denied the allegations against his wife. He stated that the President's office had advised him to post receipts this way, and this has been a common practice since the beginning of his 6-year term. So he felt outraged and betrayed that this would suddenly be declared wrong. He assured that all funds had been used for diplomatic purposes and did not end up in private hands. He also stressed that when he took office he found his presidential salary too high and personally cut it in half, and that amount is still too high. He has no need to embezzle money. He also stated that if his wife were found guilty of all charges by the Judicial Yuan , he would resign from the office of President of the Republic of China with immediate effect. After Chen protested his innocence, Shih Ming-te described all of Chen's statements as lies. The KMT also said that these were Chen's excuses to stay in office.

First lady Wu Shu-chen became faint during a press conference and was admitted to the University Hospital of Taiwan National University . Here, too, voices are loud that the attack of weakness is feigned.

anniversary

On September 9, 2007, thousands of demonstrators gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard to commemorate the campaign a year later. More than 1,000 police officers monitored this demonstration, but without having to take any action. Shih Ming-teh also performed during the anniversary campaign and encouraged the demonstrators that their perseverance would pay off.

International media

  • CNN reporters reported on the "DEPOSE" campaign on September 9, 2007. CNN estimates the number of protesters between 30,000 and 50,000.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ President Chen Denies Corruption Allegations ( March 8, 2014 memento on the Internet Archive ), Radio Taiwan International , November 5, 2006
  2. ↑ Shih Hsiu-chuan and Mo Yan-chih, "KMT Confirms Ma Shih meeting, denies conspiracy" , Taipei Times , August 19, 2006 (English)
  3. ↑ Debby Wu, "Shen fails to clarify his position in scandal" , Taipei Times , 19 March 2004 (English)
  4. ↑ "Ah-Bian" (阿扁) is a nickname for Chen Shui-bian. See also: Chinese naming in children
  5. ↑ Keith Bradsher: "Protesters Fuel a Long-Shot Bid to Oust Taiwan's Leader" , New York Times , 28 September 2006 (English)
  6. ↑ 楊甦棣 ： 大家 不是 應該 要 有禮貌 嗎？！ ( Memento from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), EC Today , October 10, 2006 (Chinese)
  7. ↑ Taiwan's Chen in corruption case , BBC , Nov. 4, 2006 (English)
  8. ↑ Thousands protest against Taiwan's graft-tainted president ( Memento February 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), AFP, September 9, 2007 (English)