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Groups plan joint
rally at nation’s railway stations
PUSH FOR SUPPORT: Pro-localization groups want
to repeat the success of the ‘228 Hand-in-Hand Rally’ held in 2004, in which
more than 1 million people took part
By Lee Hsin-fang / Staff Reporter
A group of pro-localization organizations are planning to hold simultaneous
rallies in front of the nation’s 19 main railway stations sometime in
mid-December in an effort to put more steam into Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) campaign, sources said.
The event, dubbed “Happiness and Peace, Lighting the New Hope of Taiwan” by the
groups, aims to stir up more public support for the DPP’s campaign.
Rehearsals for the event are scheduled to take place in a suitable location in
Taipei City in late November, and the groups are hoping to replicate the success
of the “228 Hand-in-Hand Rally” held in 2004, sources said.
More than 1 million people joined hands during the “228 Hand-in-Hand Rally,”
held on Feb. 28, 2004, joined hands in an island-wide peaceful protest against
the military threat posed by China.
The event also helped boost then-president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) re-election
prospects.
Sources said that pro--localization groups were increasingly concerned about the
unenthusiastic public response to January’s presidential election.
The groups had originally planned to hold events similar to the 2004 rally, but
in an effort to be creative, opted for a lamp lighting event instead, sources
said.
In addition to Tsai, who will definitely be invited to the event, the groups
intend to invite such pro-localization heavyweights as Ping Ming-min (彭明敏), Koo
Kwang-ming (辜寬敏), Ng Chiau-tong (黃昭堂), Hwang Kun-hu (黃崑虎) and Presbyterian
Church Reverend Kao Chun-ming (高俊明) to the event, sources said.
During the official lighting event, those invited members would congregate at
one of the 19 train stations across the nation and simultaneously light the
lamps.
Railway stations already selected for the event include Keelung, Taipei, Taoyuan,
Hsinchu, Miaoli, Greater Taichung, Changhua, Chiayi, Greater Tainan, Greater
Kaohsiung, Pingtung, Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung, sources said.
Translated by Jake Chung, Staff Writer
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