A chain reaction of local marches spread like wildfire from one township to the next. With the number of protesters surpassing 100,000, the gravity of the situation became increasingly evident. On November 17, five DPP county executives from southern Taiwan met with President Chen to discuss popular dissatisfaction with the proposed policy. Not long afterward, the Executive Yuan announced its decision to suspend implementation.
各鄉鎮農漁會走上街頭的串連行動如火如荼展開後，眼見走上街頭遊行的情勢愈形嚴峻，人數逼近十餘萬；十一月十七日南部五位民進黨縣市長連袂晉見陳水扁總統，直接面陳民情，稍晚行政院隨即宣佈「農漁會信用部分級管理措施」暫緩實施。