The 228 Hand-in-Hand rally was a
demonstration in the form of a
human chain held in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
on February 28, 2004, the 57th anniversary of the
February 28 Incident. Approximately two million (estimation ranged from 1.9 to 2.3 million depending on the reporting media) Taiwanese formed a long human chain, from the harbor at
Keelung
Keelung () or Jilong () (; Hokkien POJ: '), officially known as Keelung City, is a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. The city is a part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, along with its neighbors, New Taipe ...
, Taiwan's northernmost city, to its southern tip at
Eluanbi
Cape Eluanbi or Oluanpi, also known by other names, is the southernmost point on the island of Taiwan. It is located in within the Hengchun Township in Pingtung County.
Names
''Éluánbí'' is the pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pr ...
,
Pingtung County
Pingtung County is a county located in southern Taiwan. It has a warm tropical monsoon climate and is known for its agriculture and tourism. Kenting National Park, Taiwan's oldest national park, is located in the county. The county seat is Pin ...
to commemorate the incident, to call for peace, and to protest the deployment of
missile
In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...
s by the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
aimed at Taiwan along the mainland coast.
This demonstration was inspired by
Baltic Way
The Baltic Way ( lt, Baltijos kelias, lv, Baltijas ceļš, et, Balti kett) or Baltic Chain (also "Chain of Freedom") was a peaceful political demonstration that occurred on 23 August 1989. Approximately two million people joined their hands to ...
, the human chain comprising two million that was organized in the
Baltic state
The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...
s in 1989. Although billed as "non-political", the event was organized by the
Pan-Green Coalition
The pan-Green coalition, pan-Green force or pan-Green groups is a nationalist political coalition in Taiwan (Republic of China), consisting of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP), Taiwan Solidarity Union (T ...
and took place only a few weeks before the
2004 ROC presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Taiwan on 20 March 2004. A consultative referendum took place on the same day regarding relations with the People's Republic of China.
President Chen Shui-bian and Vice President Annette Lu of the Democratic ...
. Some of the symbolism of the demonstration, particularly at the point in the event where participants "turn away from China" veered clearly toward support of
Taiwanese independence
The Taiwan independence movement is a political movement which advocates the formal declaration of an independent and sovereign Taiwanese state, as opposed to Chinese unification or the status quo in Cross-Strait relations.
Currently, Tai ...
, and hence was not attended by members of the
Pan-Blue Coalition
The pan-Blue coalition, pan-Blue force or pan-Blue groups is a political coalition in the Republic of China (Taiwan) consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP), New Party (CNP), Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU), and Young ...
who countered the demonstration with an island-wide rally of their own days later.
See also
*
Catalan Way
The Catalan Way ( ca, Via Catalana), also known as the Catalan Way towards Independence ( ca, Via Catalana cap a la Independència), was a human chain in support of Catalan independence from Spain. It was organized by the Assemblea Nacional Ca ...
*
Wild Lily student movement
Taiwan's Wild Lily student movement () or March student movement was a six-day student demonstration in 1990 for democracy. The sit-in at Memorial Square in Taipei (since rededicated as Liberty Square in commemoration of the movement) was ini ...
*
Sunflower Student Movement
The Sunflower Student Movement is associated with a protest movement driven by a coalition of students and civic groups that came to a head between March 18 and April 10, 2014, in the Legislative Yuan and, later, also the Executive Yuan of T ...
External links
Hand-in-Hand Taiwan Alliance— official site
February 28 incident
2004 in Taiwan
Protests in Taiwan
Politics of Taiwan
Protest marches
February 2004 events in Asia
Human chains (politics)
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