Taiwan losers resort to rioting

Taiwan losers resort to rioting
AGENCIES

MARCH 19: Fury spread on Sunday among the losers in the Taiwan election, with supporters of second-place-getter James Soong Chu-Yu rioting and Soong announcing he would launch a new party of his own.

The anger was not directed at the election winner, Chenshui-Bian, but instead at the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) establishment over a split in the Conservative camp that allowed Chen to bolt through the middle and win the presidency with just 39.3 per cent of the votes.

The split looked set to worsen, with the Conservative former general secretary of the KMT or Nationalist Party saying he would set up a new political party, as yet unnamed, "to represent mainstream Taiwan values".

Tens of thousands of his supporters surrounded the KMT headquarters in Central Taipei to demand that President Lee Teng-Hui resign as KMT chairman after the party's poll disaster.

Blowing horns and shouting "Lee Teng-Hui step down" the protesters smashed the windows of some KMT leaders' cars and injured several KMT officials. Police set up barbed wire and turned water cannon onto the rioters, who fought back with fists and clubs.

The violent protests had begun on Saturday evening after the KMT lost its 50-year grip on power to the Opposition Democratic Progressive Party. By Sunday evening the crowd was hurling eggs, stones and gas canisters at riot police.

Waving flags, blowing plastic trumpets and shouting "People stepout, Lee step down", the protesters pushed through barbed wire and a wall of riot police to get close to the KMT building.

Television showed some protesters fighting police with clubs and fists. Some injured protesters were taken to hospital.

The protesters, mostly kmt members, suspect Lee covertly supported Chen. Lee has agreed to step down, but not until September when the KMT holds a provisional party Congress. Vice-president Lian Chen resigned as KMT vice chairman on Sunday evening.

Earlier in the day, protesters smashed windows of limousines leaving the headquarters building and attacked at least one party official, punching him to the ground and then beating him with wooden poles.