With songs, chants, speeches and clashes, tens of thousands of people demonstrated at several locations near the Presidential Office Building on Double Ten National Day yesterday, calling on President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to step down.

While different groups of demonstrators had different appeals — ranging from the fate of the country’s Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市), to the government’s handling of an improper lobbying case allegedly involving major political figures — the call for Ma to step down was the common theme.