TAIPEI : Pressing Reform

Leaders of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have called for a mass rally in the Taiwanese capital Wednesday to demand faster political reform.

The National Assembly has been engaged in debate--interrupted at times by bare-fisted brawling--about constitutional revisions proposed by the ruling Nationalists to make the body more responsive to voters. President Lee Teng-hui also seeks an end to emergency provisions enacted during the civil war on the Chinese mainland. The DPP says the changes don’t go far enough. And it charges they provide a means for the Nationalist Party to hang on to power.