Thousands of people have returned to join the sit-in protest in
front of the offices of Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian at the
conclusion of their working day.
According to Taiwan media some people left for work at 8:00 AM
on Monday but nearly 1,000 still remained at the rally and
continued their protest against Chen's alleged corruption.
The intense atmosphere reached a new peak when Shih Ming-tech,
the former chairman of Chen's party the Democratic Progressive
Party (DPP), and leader of the mass protest appeared. Protesters
again chanted for Chen to step down.
Despite the wet weather more people swarmed from offices into
the streets from noon onwards and the number of protesters exceeded
30,000 by 9:00 PM.
A boss of a Taiwan manufacturing enterprise surnamed Liu said
he’d given his employees a week-long holiday to encourage them to
take part in the protest which it’s said will last until Chen
resigns.
Those who could not get off work hurried to the sit-in during
their lunch breaks to show their support. Many brought tents,
instant food and water to the protesters.
The mass protest started on Saturday when more than 300,000
people took to the streets in Taipei on the first day to voice
their objections over Chen and his family members who’re accused of
taking bribes and peddling their influence.
(Xinhua News Agency September 12, 2006)
