Thousands rally in Taiwan to seek president's exit

Taipei, June 10 : Thousands of people took to the streets of Taiwan's capital today for the second consecutive weekend, calling for President Chen Shui-bian to quit over a deepening financial scandal involving his family members.

The protest came as opposition parties intensified pressure on Chen to step down after his son-in-law was detained last month on suspicion of insider trading.

The first lady has been accused of accepting millions of Taiwan dollars worth of department store gift certificates.

Wielding banners and shouting slogans, protesters yelled, ''If you're corrupt, what must you do? Step down!'', as they crowded into the streets facing the presidential office in Taipei.

The political crisis escalated this week when the main opposition Nationalist Party decided to initiate a recall motion to dismiss Chen despite lacking the two-thirds parliamentary majority needed to push through a vote authorising a referendum on the issue.

''We are not trying to usurp power. We are protesting against an incompetent and corrupt government,'' said Ma Ying-jeou, chairman of the opposition Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang (KMT).

''This may be a long struggle, but we have to hold out to the end and persist until we succeed,'' Ma told a cheering crowd at a road cordoned off with barbed wire barricades and police carrying shields and batons.

Another protest planned in the southern city of Kaohsiung today was cancelled due to heavy rains and floods.

Despite apologising, Chen has harshly criticised the opposition's attempts to oust him, accusing the KMT of feeling resentment due to election losses in 2000 and 2004.

In the latest poll by cable television station TVBS, 53 per cent of respondents said they wanted Chen to step down and 66 per cent thought he was not suitable to be president.

''I came out here today because I want A-bian to step down. He's too corrupt to be our president,'' said Hsu Yu-ing, 39, who works at an electronics firm. A-bian is Chen's nickname.

Reuters