Taiwan signature drive seeks president’s removal

By Benjamin Kang Lim

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s opposition has gathered over
1.5 million signatures calling on President Chen Shui-bian to
resign on the eve of a parliamentary vote seeking to oust him
over a series of scandals, it said on Monday.

Parliament votes on Tuesday on whether to authorize a
referendum to unseat him, but the motion is expected to be
defeated because the main opposition Nationalist Party and
splinter People First Party lack the necessary two-thirds
majority.

“In addition to apologizing to the entire nation, Chen
Shui-bian must resign to assume responsibility and give us back
a clean, honest and righteous government,” the Nationalist
Party or Kuomintang said on its Web site (www.kmt.org.tw).

Local Nationalist offices had gathered more than 1.58
million signatures, a party spokesman said by telephone, as
part of a relentless opposition campaign in recent weeks to
dump Chen. Taiwan has a population of about 23 million.

Chen’s son-in-law was detained in May on charges of using
insider information and dummy accounts to buy shares in a
financially troubled real estate developer which was later
bailed out. Chen’s wife has been accused of accepting millions
of Taiwan dollars’ worth of department store gift certificates.
Both accused have denied wrongdoing.

The scandals have pummeled Chen’s approval rating, spawned
political uncertainty and battered the stock market and the
Taiwan dollar.

Premier Su Tseng-chang warned on Monday against “extreme
action” ahead of the parliamentary vote.

“I urge (protesters) to be rational and calm, abide by the
law and maintain order,” he told reporters. The embattled
president burned incense and prayed at temples in Taipei and
his hometown, Tainan, in the south over the weekend.

The People First Party has vowed to push for a vote of no
confidence against the cabinet if the “recall” vote fails.

Lee Yuan-tseh, a Nobel chemistry prize winner who backed
Chen in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, said in a
statement his “heart ached” that the ruling Democratic
Progressive Party had achieved little and was embroiled in
scandal.

The opposition has staged weekend protests in the run-up to
the vote. Chen’s supporters have also turned out in huge
numbers.

Analysts say that even if Chen manages to ride out his
remaining two years in office, he is already a lame duck.

(Additional reporting by Judy Lin)