Pro-independence activists disturb memorial ceremony

Feb 28, 2009, 6:24 GMT

   Kaohsiung, Taiwan/Taipei - Dozens of Taiwan pro-independence activists Saturday disrupted a speech by President Ma Ying-jeou at a memorial ceremony for victims killed in a a 1947 massacre.

   'Step down, Ma Ying-jeou,' 'Ma Ying-jeou, persecutor' and 'Long live Taiwan,' the activists shouted, unfurling protest banners at various spots of the ceremony venue at a park in the southern city of Kaohsiung.

   They accused Ma, head of the Nationalist Party or Kuomintang (KMT), of being behind the detention of corruption-tainted former president Chen Shui-bian.

   The ceremony commemorates a February 28, 1947 incident when a row over a cigarette monopoly lead to a series of protests against the KMT rule, in which up to 20,000 people lost their lives in the ensuing crackdown by troops from the mainland.

   The sour feelings intensified after the KMT, which was defeated in a civil war by the Chinese Communists, fled to Taiwan in 1949 and set up an interim government, the begin of more than three decades of iron rule on the island.

   In his speech, Ma said as head of government, he would do all he can to heal the historic wound and help the victims' families.

   'I have asked that cabinet and parliament quickly restore a 1.5-billion-Taiwan-dollar (40-million-US-dollar) budget to fund the 2-28 Incident Memorial Foundation,' he told the families in the ceremony.

   He said while he was not yet born in 1947, he has remained concerned about to the incident and it negative impact to Taiwan since he joined government service more than two decades ago.

   After the Kaohsiung ceremony, Ma returned to Taipei, to attended a similar memorial service, only to face another group of protestors.

   'Shame on you, you persecutor,' the activists shouted, demanding the immediate release of former president Chen.

   Chen has been held in a jail since late December, pending trial on charges of embezzlement, acceptance bribes, money laundering, influence peddling and extortion. He has claimed his prosecution is the result of Ma's appeasement policy towards China, which wants to punish him because of his promotion of Taiwan independence.

   Beijing has viewed Taiwan as a wayward province that must be brought back to the Chinese fold, if necessary by force.