Taipei: Taiwan’s main political parties took to the media Thursday to lay out their expectations and try to shape the narrative ahead of a rally by the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) against President Lai Ching-te Saturday. At a press conference Thursday morning, KMT spokesperson Crystal Yang announced that the rally will begin at 3 p.m. Saturday and will feature speeches by several regular citizens, with assistance from former National Taiwan University President Kuan Chung-ming.
According to Focus Taiwan, the party has previously stated that over 50,000 people have signed up to attend the protest to “protect democracy” and oppose Lai, which will be held on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office building. Top KMT figures, including Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an, New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih, and Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen, have confirmed their attendance, along with Huang Kuo-chang, chairman of the smaller opposition Taiwan People’s Party.
At the press briefing, KMT Taipei City Councilor Liu Tsai-wei warned of the possibility that opponents of the KMT could try to sabotage the event and urged attendees to only wave Republic of China (Taiwan) flags. “Any other kinds of flags or posters will not be welcome. People should also not wear clothing with radical slogans,” Liu said, explaining that this would make it easier to identify provocateurs in the crowd. Liu appeared to be referring to KMT claims this week that supporters of the government were recruiting paid protesters to sabotage the rally by waving Chinese flags or pro-unification banners.
Meanwhile, at a competing press briefing, Legislator Wu Szu-yao of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) claimed the opposition rally was intended to strengthen KMT Chairman Eric Chu’s hand ahead of party leadership elections later this year. News reports that the KMT is bussing people in, offering free lunchboxes, and hiring young people to staff the rally showed that the party is “worried” about its poor standing with the public, and is trying everything to drum up publicity and support, Wu said.
In contrast to the “Protect Taiwan and Reject the CCP” rally held on Ketagalan Boulevard last Saturday, which was “rational, peaceful, and full of positive energy,” the KMT rally will be “completely different,” Wu said. “We hope not to see any five-star (Chinese) flags or Nazi symbols, any extreme or inflammatory rhetoric,” she said, referring to a recent incident involving a man wearing a Nazi armband during a public appearance.
Ahead of the rally, the Taipei City Police Department announced Thursday that it has assigned 400 police officers to maintain security at the event, with more on call if needed. Taipei is expected to see scattered rain showers, with a chance of heavy rain or thunderstorms Saturday, according to the Central Weather Administration.