Taiwan Votes, China Cannot Be Happy

[Annie]

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=8491776&pageNumber=0

Taiwan's Chen wins poll, boost on China stance
Sat May 14, 2005 07:21 AM ET


By Alice Hung and Tiffany Wu
TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won an election on Saturday, securing a fresh mandate to pursue an independence-leaning policy toward rival China.

Although the National Assembly poll was held for the sole purpose of ratifying constitutional reforms already approved by parliament, relations with China dominated the agenda as the vote followed bridge-building visits by opposition leaders to the mainland.

The DPP won 42.52 percent of votes to affirm its standing as Taiwan's largest political party, figures from the Central Election Commission showed. The main opposition Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) finished with 38.92 percent.

"It helps ease pressure on Chen to improve relations with China," said Philip Yang, a professor of political science at National Taiwan University. "Chen can breathe a sign of relief."

However, he said the record low turnout -- estimated at 23 percent -- showed many people did not care about the poll.

With his political adversaries seeking to build relationships with rival China, Chen had been under rising pressure to find ways to break the ice with Beijing, which refuses to deal with him or his government because of their independence stance.

China claims the democratic island of 23 million as its own and enacted an anti-secession law in March sanctioning war if Taiwan pushes for formal statehood.

As part of a strategy to divide and conquer Taiwan, China had sought to marginalise Chen by engaging the opposition KMT and People First Party (PFP), which both oppose Taiwan independence.

In meetings with KMT leader Lien Chan and PFP leader James Soong, Beijing offered Taiwan a slew of economic incentives, aiming to win the hearts of the island's 23 million people....

 

[theim]

how could a Nationalist party oppose independence?