Taiwan holds referendum rally

Former President Lee Teng-hui showed support for his successor

Tens of thousands of people have showed their support for Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian's proposed referendum on relations with China.

The crowds - among them former President Lee Teng-hui - formed a human chain in the south of the island.

They chanted their opposition to China's deployment of missiles which are pointed at Taiwan.

The planned referendum, which will take place in March, has provoked criticism both at home and abroad.

According to the organisers, more than 70,000 people in the southern county of Tainan took part in Sunday's event.

Hand in hand, they formed a human chain along a 60-kilometre highway (37 miles).

Rehearsing

The demonstrators shouted slogans calling for peace not war, and urging China to remove 500 missiles targeted against the island.

President Chen says he will stand up to China

The event, which was also aimed at uniting Taiwan's different ethnic groups, took on a carnival air, with musicians and dancers performing on open stages.

The demonstration - dubbed "the hand-in-hand peace rally" - is seen as a rehearsal for a much bigger event in just a few weeks' time, when organisers hope to mobilise a million people to link hands across the length of the island.

It is intended to show support for President Chen and his planned referendum, the nation's first.

Voters will be asked if they think Taiwan should obtain advanced anti-missile weapons if China refuses to withdraw missiles aimed at it, and if Taipei should open talks with Beijing.