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Pro-independence group concludes
36-day march
By Rich Chang / Staff reporter
Members of the Alliance of
Referendum for Taiwan return to Taipei yesterday after walking around the island
in protest at what they call the “autocratic control of the judiciary.” They
also called for the release of jailed former president Chen Shui-bian.
Photo: CNA
Members of a pro-independence group
yesterday completed a 36-day walk around the country as they called on the
authorities to end what they termed “autocratic control of the judiciary” and
for the release of jailed former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
The walk, initiated by the Alliance of Referendum for Taiwan, arrived at Banciao
Railway Station in New Taipei City (新北市) yesterday morning. They braved the cold
and rain, and at noon reached Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential
Office in Taipei, where an overnight protest was scheduled.
Dozens of people joined the walk, which commenced at Taipei Veterans General
Hospital in Taipei on Nov. 3.
The group walked through Keelung, Yilan, Hualien, Taitung and Pingtung counties,
as well as the cities and counties on the west coast before arriving back in
Taipei.
The activists clashed with police earlier yesterday when the alliance’s
convener, Tsay Ting-kuei (蔡丁貴), and a few others went to the Ketagalan Boulevard
to appraise their scheduled protest location.
Tsay said the group should be granted the whole of Ketagalan Boulevard for the
protest, but police officers insisted lanes be left open for traffic and
forcefully removed Tsay and the others.
During the clash, Tsay fell to the ground and was afterwards sent to hospital
for treatment.
According to former Northern Taiwan Society director Janice Chen (陳昭姿), who
visited Tsay in hospital, Tsay will stay hospitalized for further observation as
he may have suffered a concussion.
Having served four years of a lengthy prison sentence after being convicted of
corruption during his term in office, Chen, who is serving an 18-and-a-half-year
sentence for corruption, was admitted to Taipei Veterans General Hospital on
Sept. 21.
He was later diagnosed with severe depression, with symptoms of anxiety and
somatization disorder. He has been on escorted visits to the hospital since
then.
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