【法新社】Taiwanese march against China-friendly policies

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Taiwanese march against China-friendly policies
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/17/2572956.htm

Posted Sun May 17, 2009 10:09pm AEST

Tens of thousands of protesters have marched throughTaiwan's capital to protest against President Ma Ying-jeou'sChina-friendly policies, which they say have compromised the island'ssovereignty.

The march through central Taipei, which was due to end at thepresidential palace, was the largest organised by the pro-independenceDemocratic Progressive Party (DPP) since Mr Ma came to power in Maylast year.

"Say No to China! Say Yes to Taiwan!", the protesters shouted asthey pumped their fists in the air under the watchful eye of about4,000 police officers.

Some wore yellow headbands reading "Don't Lean Towards China, Safeguard Sovereignty!"

The demonstrators - who planned to stage an all-night sit-in at thepresidential palace - say Taiwan's sovereignty and interests have beencompromised by Mr Ma's policies on China.

"Ma assured the public that he would by no means sell out Taiwanahead of the vote more than a year ago," former premier Su Tseng-changtold the crowd, his voice hoarse from shouting.

"But the fact is that Taiwan has been belittled in the three negotiations with China since last year."

The DPP said 600,000 people attended the Taipei rally, but Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin put the turnout at less than 80,000.

Thousands more marched in the island's second city of Kaohsiung inthe south, where some protesters burned the flags of China and theisland's ruling Kuomintang party.

Mr Ma, who travelled to the northern city of Hsinchu, urged demonstrators "to feel at ease about the sovereignty issues".

"As exchanges with the mainland are based on the principles ofdignity and equality, our sovereignty has not been sacrificed. Rather,our place in international society has become larger," he said.

Relations between Taiwan and China, which split in 1949 at the endof a civil war, had hit rock bottom due to the provocativepro-independence rhetoric of Mr Ma's DPP predecessor Chen Shui-bian.

But they have improved dramatically since Mr Ma's inauguration nearly a year ago.

The two sides have since held three rounds of talks and signed araft of agreements that led to regular direct flights across the TaiwanStrait, a steep rise in the number of Chinese tourist arrivals, andgreater cooperation.

- AFP