Taiwan leaders threaten to end National Day ceremony

TAIPEI, Oct 11 (Reuters) Taiwan's government will consider cancelling National Day ceremonies next year after a large protest demanding the president resign alarmed visiting dignitaries, officials said today.

Yesterday, about 5,000 Taipei police officers stood by as demonstrators estimated at a peak of more than 100,000 chanted slogans outside a perimeter surrounding the presidential offices and other National Day ceremony venues.

Premier Su Tseng-chang today criticised security in Taipei, a city led by an opposition party mayor.

Scenes of bickering legislators from competing parties in a ceremony viewing area added to concerns, Su said in the statement.

The presidents of Honduras and Sao Tome and Principe, two of Taiwan's 24 remaining diplomatic allies, noticed the protests, as did dozens of Taipei-based diplomats and visiting foreign journalists who attended a barb wire-ringed dinner reception yesterday night to celebrate the island's National Day.

''The government assiduously gave (Taiwan) a happy birthday celebration, but a situation of shock to inbound and outbound foreign dignitary vehicles occurred,'' Su said in a statement. ''If we do as the president said, next year we could simply not hold the big ceremony.'' President Chen Shui-bian has faced a month of protests over accusations of graft involving his family and aides.

Chen has rejected the accusations, and yesterday his office issued a statement calling the protest ''irresponsible'' amid National Day celebrations. Police are considering whether to arrest anyone involved in the demonstrations.

REUTERS PDM PM1632