Thousands seek Chen Shui-bian's exit   (Reuters)  Updated: 2006-06-10 16:59  
Thousands of people took to the streets of Taibei on Saturday for the 
second consecutive weekend, calling for Chen Shui-bian to quit over a deepening 
financial scandal involving his family members. 
 
 
 
   Taiwan leader 
 Chen Shui-bian. [filephoto] |   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 on Saturday 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 percent of 
respondents said they wanted Chen to step down and 66 percent 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. 
 
  
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