Despite the rain, thousands of Taiwanese people on Thursday gathered in the Sun Yat-sen Museum in Taipei to strongly protest Chen Shui-bian's "inauguration." 

The protest campaign, organized by the opposition party alliance, was joined by people from the different parts of the island.

"The election facts are unclear, so we cannot recognize Chen's taking power through illegal means," said a protester.

Some protesters raised banners with "death of Taiwan democracy" or "no inauguration before the facts are revealed" written on them. Some shouted and blew air horns, while opposition party leaders Lien Chan and James Soong delivered speeches.

Before Chen's speech for the "inauguration", black balloons bearing the words "we want the truth" were released up to the sky.

Guarded by 15,000 policemen and military policemen, Chen, in his "inauguration", delivered a speech with no word on the one-China principle. He mentioned cross-Straits relations and "constitutional reforms."

Some political critics and scholars in the island believe Chen has not altered his "Taiwan independence" separatist stance and his speech does not mean the improvement of future cross-Straits relations.

Protests continued in different venues after the "inauguration."

(Xinhua News Agency May 21, 2004)