Taiwan President’s San Francisco Stay Reveals Deep Political Divide

SAN FRANCISCO--Taiwan's President Chen Shui Bian was in San Francisco for less than 24 hours, but his stay sparked both vigorous support and protest from an immigrant community deeply divided over the controversial leader.

Chen stopped in the city on Monday for a short stay on his way to Managua, Nicaragua, for the inauguration of President Daniel Ortega on Jan. 10. He stayed at the St. Regis hotel in downtown San Francisco, where hundreds of supporters and protesters waited in hopes of catching a glimpse of him.

Supporters arrived by the busloads at the hotel. "This is the first time a Taiwanese president has visited San Francisco since Taiwan's democracy," says Chang Guo-Chin, a spokesperson for the Silicon Valley chapter of Chen's Democratic Progressive Party. "As his hosts, Taiwanese immigrants can't wait to welcome him," he told the Chinese-language World Journal.

Supporters of Chen, who waved flags and wore green, the color of Chen's party.

But Chen's detractors showed up, too. Li Qian-Ying, an immigrant from Taiwan, told the World Journal that she wanted Chen to hear the voices of immigrants from Taiwan. "I want to tell Chen Shui Bian, 'I look down on you.'" Li told the World Journal.

By evening, a group of about 70 anti-Chen protesters waited outside in the cold for Chen to emerge from the hotel. They held signs that said, "Depose Chen" and "Impeach A-Bian," Chen's nickname in Taiwanese.

Chen's visit highlights the deep political divisions among immigrants from Taiwan on their views of Taiwanese independence and the volatile battle for political power in Taiwan.

Taiwan and China split after the 1949 Civil War, when the Chinese Communists overtook the Nationalists (Kuomintang), who fled to Taiwan to establish their own government with the hope to eventually reunite with China. The Nationalists ruled Taiwan until the pro-independence Chen won the presidential election in 2000. Chen's Democratic Progressive Party advocates Taiwanese identity and steps toward independence.

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