Taiwan independence protesters take to the street in Taipei
- Rally urges island’s government to allow referendum on formal split from mainland China
- Organisers say 120,000 people joined protest; police say 5,000
Thousands of Taiwan independence campaigners rallied in Taipei on Saturday demanding President Tsai Ing-wen allow a referendum to decide whether the self-ruled island should break from mainland China.
The protesters were reacting to what they see as a relentless campaign by Beijing to annex Taiwan, which it regards as a wayward province awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.
According to Formosa Alliance, the group that organised the event, the protesters were allowed to gather only in a restricted area outside the headquarters of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Beiping East Road. They had previously complained the area was too small as it could accommodate only 1,000 people.
While the organisers said on Saturday that 120,000 people took part in the rally, police said there were no more than 5,000.
The protest is the first of its kind since Tsai took office in 2016. It called for a revision to the Referendum Law and a public vote on a change of the island’s constitution and its official Republic of China title.
