Taipei, April 24 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian urged the opposition "pan-blue alliance" Saturday to heed the legality and legitimacy of its methods while contesting the result of the March 20 presidential election.
Addressing a joint opening ceremony for classes at the Ketagalan Academy, Chen said that in democratic society, people are eligible to express their opinions. "What I'm worried about is the reasons for and methods of the protests. I'm convinced that the majority of our people disagree with the use of the national flag to attack police officers. Nor would they agree to protesters storming the Central Election Commission and police offices under the shield of the national flag," Chen said. "Pan-blue alliance" supporters have staged a string of protests over the past month, several of which have turned violent.
Stressing that patriotism cannot justify violent acts, Chen said social stability and national progress are extremely important in a democratic society like Taiwan.
Chen further said he firmly supports a legal settlement to election disputes, but he added that he is very worried about how government authority can be enforced if there is no trust in the judiciary, investigators, physicians or even internationally renowned forensic experts.