I was on cycle ride through Banciao this afternoon (had to pick up some more winter gear) when loud dramatic music cut through the hum drum of Taipei County traffic.

Sounding like something you’d hear on the Lord of the Rings soundtrack, I found myself standing outside Banciao Stadium.

Turns out there was a KMT political rally for Ma Ying-jeou tonight and I was a bit early. Usually on a Saturday night Banciao Stadium is full of people either playing basketball or walking loops around the track, but today it was an eerie coliseum of empty chairs.

Being a political rally you had tons of police and secret service looking guys around and despite my best efforts, they wouldn’t let me onto the grounds.

Still, not like that stopped me. Here’s a look at what a political rally looks like in Taiwan, before the throngs and rent-a-crowd supporters are bussed in.

Outside Banciao Stadium you had some flags lining the drive up to the stadium entrance:

As well as this KMT merchandise truck:

but by far the most visually appealing aspect of the yet to start rally was the giant stadium chock-a-block with empty stools (click to enlarge).

Large empty spaces are somewhat of a rarity here in Taiwan’s cities, so the spectacle was quite something to behold.

As for the rally itself, after giving up on security letting us in we moved on after I’d taken my photos. It was a steady drizzle for most of the evening in Taipei and even now just after midnight is still raining.

I hope the KMT supporters who rocked up brought their umbrellas!


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