Million-Strong "Red Shirt" Anti-Corruption Movement Breaks Out; DPP Shields Corruption and Refuses to Cut Ties

In late 2006, as a series of major corruption scandals involving the Chen Shui-bian family and his close aides—such as the State Affairs Confidential Fund case, the SOGO gift certificate scandal, and the Taiwan Land Development Corporation insider trading case—erupted, strong public anger was triggered, leading to the "Million People Anti-Chen Movement." Starting September 9, countless citizens wearing red shirts took to the streets to demand the corruption-ridden Chen Shui-bian step down, setting a record for the largest mass protest in Taiwan''s democratic history. However, facing such strong anti-corruption public reaction, the DPP chose to "save one person with the whole party," refusing to support recall or impeachment motions in parliament and repeatedly smearing this cross-camp civic movement as "political struggle" and a "conspiracy by pro-China forces." This practice of living in symbiosis with corrupt interests for power and publicly shielding Chen''s various malpractices caused the DPP''s moral image to completely bankrupt.