Hundreds of thousands demand resignation of Taiwan president

Hundreds of thousands of chanting protesters marched through Taipei today, breathing new life into a campaign to pressure Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian to resign over a series of high-profile corruption scandals.

A police estimate put the crowd at 250,000, but organisers said three-quarters of a million people took part.

The march came at the end of a week-long series of demonstrations led by a former ally of the president who said he was fed up with the culture of corruption that has flourished in Taiwan under Chen’s leadership.

Since last weekend, protesters have maintained a vigil outside the ornate Presidential Office building, chanting slogans and giving their trademark “thumbs down” sign over allegations that people close to Chen – including his wife and son-in-law – used their proximity to him for personal financial gain.

But the crowds fell off sharply after 90,000 people attended a kick-off rally on Saturday. Today’s march, however, appeared to show that the anti-Chen campaign had gained new momentum.

Highlighting the renewed determination, the march took place in the driving rain as Typhoon Shanshan skirted the eastern Taiwanese coast.

The bad weather didn’t appear to affect the mood of the marchers, many of whom were dressed in red to symbolise their anger with Chen’s leadership.

A group of boisterous high school students led the procession along a broad thoroughfare, calling for the president’s resignation and flashing the thumbs down sign amid cheers from onlookers.

Some of the demonstrators held black-rimmed portraits of Chen, characteristic of Taiwanese funeral processions.

Others clutched red signs, bearing the Chinese characters for “Taiwan’s shame,” and “end corruption now,” as drums beat rhythmically in the background.

For the past six months Chen has been on the defensive over a series of high profile corruption scandals.

Earlier this month the Presidential Office acknowledged that prosecutors questioned Chen himself about the use of false invoices to account for part of a secret fund used to sustain Taiwanese diplomatic activities abroad.

Chen denied any wrongdoing in the affair, and insisted he will stay on until the end of his term, which ends in May 2008.