View source for 228 Hand-in-Hand rally

{{Short description|2004 human chain in Taiwan}}
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The '''228 Hand-in-Hand rally''' was a [[Demonstration (people)|demonstration]] in the form of a [[human chain (politics)|human chain]] held in [[Taiwan]] on February 28, 2004, the 57th anniversary of the [[February 28 Incident]]. Approximately two million (estimation ranged from 1.2<ref name="NBC">{{cite news|title=1.2 million form human chain in Taiwan|url= https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna4407732|work=NBC News|date=28 February 2004|access-date=11 January 2024}}</ref> to 2.3 million depending on the reporting media) Taiwanese formed a {{convert|500|km|mi|adj=on|sp=us}} long human chain from [[Keelung]] to [[Pingtung County]] to commemorate the incident, to call for peace, and to protest the deployment of [[missile]]s by the [[People's Republic of China]] aimed at Taiwan along the coast. The rally was the largest in Taiwanese history.<ref name="NBC"/>

==Origin==
The demonstration was inspired by [[Baltic Way]], the human chain comprising two million that was organized in the [[Baltic state]]s in 1989. Although billed as "non-political", the event was organized by the [[Pan-Green Coalition]] and took place only a few weeks before the [[2004 Taiwanese presidential election]]. 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]], and hence was not attended by members of the [[Pan-Blue Coalition]] who countered the demonstration with an island-wide rally of their own days later.

==Human chain==
The human chain started at the northern tip of Taiwan in [[Hoping Island]] near [[Keelung]], stretched 500 kilometers through 18 Taiwanese cities and counties, and ended in [[Pingtung County]].<ref name="TT 2004">{{cite news|last=Chang|first=Yun-ping|title=Two million rally for peace|url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2004/02/29/2003100533|work=Taipei Times|date=29 February 2004|access-date=11 January 2024}}</ref>

In [[Taipei]], people linked hands in front of the [[Presidential Office Building (Taiwan)|Presidential Office Building]].<ref name="NBC"/>

President [[Chen Shui-bian]] and former president [[Lee Teng-hui]] joined hands in [[Miaoli County]].<ref name="TT 2004"/>

==See also==
* [[Catalan Way]]
* [[Wild Lily student movement]]
* [[Sunflower Student Movement]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040403104711/http://www.hand-in-hand.org.tw/ Hand-in-Hand Taiwan Alliance] &mdash; official site

{{taiwan topics}}

[[Category:February 28 incident]]
[[Category:2004 in Taiwan]]
[[Category:Protests in Taiwan]]
[[Category:Politics of Taiwan]]
[[Category:Protest marches]]
[[Category:February 2004 in Asia]]
[[Category:Human chains (politics)]]


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