3,000 Activists, Police Square Off in Taiwan

About 3,000 opposition activists demanding democratic reforms faced off against riot police in downtown Taipei on Monday evening in the start of an overnight protest.

Police backed by motorized tear-gas launchers and water cannon erected barbed-wire barricades on three sides of the protesters, blocking any movement toward government buildings.

The opposition Democratic Progressive Party, which organized the protest, had received permits for a march through Taipei but did not have permission to stay in the street overnight.

“We decided to stay here to give more pressure to the authorities,” Democratic Progressive Party Chairman Hsu Hsin-liang said as the sit-down protest began. “There is no other way to achieve our goals, or, I would say, the people’s goals. . . . It is not enough to express your wish. You have to show a strong will.”

The night passed without major incident, and about 1,000 protesters remained in the street as the morning rush hour began today.

Earlier Monday, dozens of members of the National Assembly who belong to the Democratic Progressive Party, demanding a meeting with President Lee Teng-hui, tried to breach a wall of police around the presidential building but were thrown back. Several of the lawmakers and police officers were reported slightly injured.

The opposition is demanding constitutional revisions that would provide for direct presidential elections, a reform also supported by the liberal wing of the ruling Nationalist Party, including President Lee. Powerful conservatives within the Nationalist Party have so far succeeded in blocking any such change. Under Taiwan’s current constitution the president is chosen by the National Assembly.

Hsu said Monday evening that the protesters intended to remain in place, blocking a major street in front of Taipei’s main train station, until the Nationalist Party agreed to political concessions.

The mood among the protesters mixed a festive air with high tension. Loudspeaker trucks blared out martial-sounding opposition songs, while demonstrators ate meals from plastic foam boxes and spread out green plastic sheets to prepare for a night on the asphalt. Surrounding the protesters on three sides were hundreds of riot police.

“We have been calling for democracy earlier than other countries like the Philippines, but they are already democratic,” complained one of the protesters, a middle-aged man willing to give only his surname, Wu.