13 September 2006: A Million Voices Against Corruption--Chen Must Go!

Some of my friends have been concerned with my safety in Taiwan these days. After all, political activist Shih Ming-te（施明德）had launched a campaign called A Million Voices Against Corruption--Chen Must Go!(“百万人民倒扁活动”）, with tens of thousands of protesters (donned in red) responding to his call and demonstrating in the streets of Taipei, and many people have joined the protest near the Presidential Offices. Thanks for the well wishes, but the situation in Taipei is calm and kept under control, so it has been a peaceful demonstration so far. I'm safe in my small haven of the university dormitory, and had decided to venture out to the "chaotic" ground in the evening to experience the atmosphere depicted by the Taiwanese mass media.

I had visited the parade square located next to the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall in the past weekend, but was never this near to the protesting crowd. I saw protesters holding or hoisting interesting banners and posters, and they chanted the words “阿扁下台!” repeatedly with every appeal made by their advocates on the central stage. Then I saw fanatics such as this lady below:

My friends and I then proceeded inwards towards the centre of the crowd, where we may catch a better view of both the central stage and the main body of the protesters who sat on the grass patch facing the stage. However, there were simply too many people; look at the crowd here and you will know what I mean:

Instead, we were forced to stand on a side aisle to watch the procession. The following scene reminded me of a Brazilian carnival:

Some of the people there looked really jubilant, and they lit red sparks as if to hold celebrations in advance. That is, if President Chen becomes overwhelmed by the people's calling and steps down eventually(but chances that he will do so are slim).

We could not view the central stage clearly from our position. However, I could distinctly hear an Ah Bek sing in the background, and I strained my neck to see who he was. Jasmine managed to take a snapshot of both him and the gigantic projector screen that featured him. The elderly man had rather powerful vocals for his age, I would say:

Before we left, we saw some people looking really bored and seemingly in need of activity. This forms a stark contrast to the scene that I had described above. Were they there as onlookers like us, or genuinely interested in contributing towards making an impact on their society? Singaporeans are generally apathetic towards politics (perhaps rightly so), so it has been a fresh experience for me here in Taiwan to witness how a full-fledged democracy functions in its own unique manner.