9 September 2006: Conscience Revolution, A-Bian Out!

I went to Ximending (umpteen times) with Connie (my Taiwanese volunteer) and Francoise for an arts bazaar, but bad weather had forced the rescheduling of the bazaar to next week. We changed our plans to visiting the shops selling electronic goods in the vicinity, and I find them labelled at competitive prices by our standard.

Tens of thousands of red-clad protestors had thronged Taipei today, demanding that incumbent President Chen Shui-bian resign over a series of alleged corruption scandals involving his family and inner circle. Therefore, we went to the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall in the evening and saw a massive crowd of Pan-Blue supporters gather at a nearby parade square. Some of them took to the stage, chanting slogans and singing songs to condemn and ridicule President Chen. The slogan on the banner raised across the stage reads: Conscience Revolution, A-Bian Out（良心革命，阿扁下台！）, and the heavy downpour did not diminish the spirit of the protestors.

Anyway, we have been hearing Jay Chou's 《千里之外》 so much that our dear Francoise and Hisashi can hum its tune from beginning to end! Mind you that they are not native speakers of Mandarin and they have only been in Taiwan for a fortnight. Too much is too much! This is ridiculous!