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Taiwan protesters stage ‘duel between black and white T-shirts’

Taiwan protesters stage ‘duel between black and white T-shirts’

Posted April. 01, 2014 07:44,   

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The student protesters declared Monday that it will continue relay sit-ins by taking turns. Since March 18, they have occupied the Taiwanese parliament in protest against Taipei’s signing of a trade deal with Beijing. When protesters clad in "black T-shirts" staged demonstration in Taipei on Sunday, other groups who are against them wore “white T-shirts,” turning the conflict into a "duel between people clad in white and black T-shirts." With students’ protest rallies continued into the second week, cross-straits exchange has also hit snags in succession.

On Sunday, some 116,000 students and citizens as estimated by police (organizers claim some half a million) gathered outside the presidential office and other nearby sites in Taipei. In expression of opposition to secretive negotiations by the Taipei government, the protesters wore black clothing, staged protest rally, chanting slogans “No to the service trade agreement,” and “Step down, President Ma Ying-jeou.” Protesters gathered from across the nation, while 65 large buses were mobilized from Tainan in southern Taiwan. The Hong Kong daily Ming Pao reported on Monday that protests in support of the demonstration took place in 49 cities in 16 countries worldwide.

Meanwhile, thousands of protesters wearing white T-shirts staged "counter-protests," chanting slogans “Return the parliament back to people, let’s defend democracy,” at public places such as bus terminals in Taipei. They clashed with protesters in T-shirts on a street, but did not engage in physical conflict due to police’ interference. Chang Zhen Ping, who assembled the coalition and serves as the chairman of the Chinese Democratic Society Service Association, criticized street protests, saying, “Problems should be resolved through the representation system,” adding, “Street protests were a method suitable for era 20 to 30 years ago.”