Taiwanese youth take to the streets in anti-government protest

Taipei, Sept. 29 (CNA) Several civic groups consisting of young Taiwanese took to the streets of Taipei on Sunday in protest against what they called the ineffectiveness of President Ma Ying-jeou's government.

Dressed in white, the demonstrators gathered on Aiguo West Road near the intersection with Boai Road and marched east to the presidential residence, where they shouted slogans, expressing dissatisfaction with the level of government efficiency.

There was a police presence of about 150 officers and 200 backup forces but the protest proceeded peacefully.

The youth demonstration, organized online, drew nearly 1,000 demonstrators, who are dissatisfied and angry with Ma and his government, according to Tzeng Tsung-kai, the convener of the Taiwan Youth's Rage Alliance.

Ko Wen-je, a physician at National Taiwan University Hospital, said on the sidelines of the protest that the president should engage in self-examination in light of his falling approval ratings.

Ma's approval ratings plunged to a new low of around 10 percent after he attempted recently to eject Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng from the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) on allegations of influence peddling.

The KMT was forced to postpone its national congress, which was scheduled for Sunday at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei, as another mass demonstration was being held at that location against unpopular government policies such as increasing electricity rates and fuel prices.

A third demonstration was scheduled to begin Sunday at 6 p.m. at the Presidential Office plaza on Ketagalan Boulevard in downtown Taipei, where all three protest groups were expected to converge.

(By Liu Chien-pang and Jeffrey Wu) ENDITEM /pc