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ECFA rally scheduled for June 6
CAST OF THOUSANDS: DPP insiders said the party is likely
to co-host or officially participate in the rally, which is expected to attract
labor and grassroots support
By Vincent Y. Chao
STAFF REPORTER
Thursday, Apr 15, 2010, Page 3
Protesters against the government's plan to sign an economic cooperation
framework agreement (ECFA) with China are planning to take their opposition to
the streets on June 6.
Michelle Wang (王美琇), an official with the Taiwan Rescue Action Alliance and one
of the organizers of the planned demonstration, said yesterday that they wanted
the international community to know that not all Taiwanese support the trade
pact and that “the people are fed up” with the government's continued push to
sign it.
The date was announced after a meeting yesterday among pro-independence
organizations and observed by representatives from the Democratic Progressive
Party (DPP) and the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU).
Despite earlier media reports that the protest might be held on May 20 to
coincide with the second anniversary of President Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九)
inauguration, participants at the meeting said that organizers changed the date
because the DPP is scheduled to hold its vote for chairperson on May 23.
Adding that a number of labor organizations and grassroots movements are
expected to join, organizers said hundreds of thousands are expected to attend
the rally, which would make it the biggest demonstration against the ECFA to
date.
A DPP rally in Taichung on Dec. 20 last year against what the party called the
Ma administration's non-transparent decision-making process on the proposed ECFA
attracted 100,000 people, the DPP said at the time.
Police put the number at 30,000.
DPP Spokesperson Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) yesterday said that while party officials
had not yet officially endorsed the June 6 rally, the proposal is under
consideration by the party’s nine-member ECFA response team.
Party insiders said the DPP would likely either co-host or officially
participate in the rally.
Some of the demands to be made at the June 6 demonstration will include asking
the Ma government to agree to a nationwide referendum on an ECFA.
The TSU will submit papers required for the first phase of a referendum to the
Referendum Review Committee next week.
Details about the locations and length of the rally have not been finalized.
Some groups, including the Taiwan Referendum Alliance, were quoted by the
Central News Agency as having asked rally organizers to apply continuous
pressure on the Ma administration by holding rallies of between 5,000 and 10,000
protesters a day around the legislature, with slogans that read “We will not
disperse if there is no referendum.”
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