Taiwan signature drive seeks president's removal

Taipei, June 27 : Taiwan's opposition has gathered about 1.67 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 implicating his family and close aides.

Parliament votes today on whether to hold 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 apologising 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 1.67 million signatures, according to a text message sent by the party yesterday, as part of a relentless 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 suspicion 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 the son-in-law and wife have denied wrongdoing.

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

''Whether the (ruling) Democratic Progressive Party has the opportunity to stand up again is entirely up to the Taiwan people to decide,'' Chen told a group of 14 ruling party deputies who visited him at the presidential office to boost his morale.

The embattled Chen burnt incense and prayed at temples in Taipei and his hometown, Tainan, in the south over the weekend.

Barbed-wire barricades were set up outside parliament ahead of today's vote to prevent any clashes between Chen supporters and opposition protesters.

Premier Su Tseng-chang warned 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 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 Democratic Progressive Party had achieved little and was embroiled in scandal.

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

Reuters