Thousands rally, demand Chen to quit   (Reuters)  Updated: 2006-06-03 20:15  
TAIPEI - Thousands of people rallied in Taipei on Saturday, joining an 
opposition call to demand "president" Chen Shui-bian's resignation over an 
insider trading scandal involving his son-in-law. 
  Shouting "Ah-bian step 
down", they gathered near the "presidential office" in central Taipei as riot 
police with baton and shields kept watch behind barbed-wire barricades set up to 
keep protesters at bay. 
  
 
 
 
   Thousands of Taiwanese 
 protesters gather before a large stage at a rally calling for "president" 
 Chen Shui-bian to step down over an insider-trading scandal involving his 
 son-in-law in Taipei June 3, 2006. The banner at the back of the stage 
 reads: "Ah-bian step down," referring to Chen's nickname. 
 [Reuters] |     Chen, whose nick-name is 
Ah bian, has faced growing pressure to step down after his son-in-law was 
detained last month on suspicion of using insider information to buy shares 
of Taiwan Development Corp. from a bank. 
  "Probe graft to the 
very end", said placards carried by the demonstrators.
  Chen, whose 
approval rating has sunk to new lows, and his son-in-law, Chao Chien-ming, have 
apologised. And Chao, who has been detained, has denied any 
wrongdoing.
  Chen has agreed to yield some powers to "premier" Su 
Tseng-chang and approved the resignations of his closest aides in an apparent 
attempt to deflect pressure from both supporters and opponents to step down. 
  But Chen's moves were too late for the People First Party, Taiwan's 
second-biggest opposition party, which organised the protest. 
  Analysts 
said the struggling party was seeking to seize the initiative after Ma 
Ying-jeou, chairman of the main opposition Nationalist Party, angered supporters 
by opposing calls for Chen to be recalled in a parliamentary vote.
  
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