How to win elections Taiwan style

The results of March 20 presidential election in Taiwan are 
still in dispute although the Electoral Commission has declared 
the outgoing President Chen Shui-bian the winner. A "judicial 
recount" has been agreed to after massive demonstrations took 
place in Taipei and other cities demanding a recount.

President Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party 
claimed victory over the opposition leader Lien Chan of the 
Kuomintang and People First Party, amid claims of ballot rigging 
and suspicions surrounding the alleged attempt on Chen's life.

The alleged assassination attempt is widely suspected of being a 
contrived event. It occurred only one day before polling day.

Magic bullet

Chen sustained a minor flesh wound across his stomach while his 
Vice-President is said to have sustained a slight wound in an 
ankle. If this is credible the Taiwanese must have invented a 
bullet that is able to change course in flight.

Police said they believed two assailants were involved and 
authorities offered US$390,000 reward for information leading to 
their capture.

What may have significantly influenced the ballot outcome is the 
fact that immediately after the attack Chen activated a national 
security protocol which meant that 200,000 military and police — 
traditional supporters of the Kuomintang Party — could not vote.

"It's obvious this violent incident [the alleged assassination 
attempt] reversed the outcome of the election", said Wayne Lin, a 
political analyst at Fu-Jen Catholic University in Taipei. "All 
the information had indicated the opposition would win by 400,000 
to 500,000 votes."

There were 12.9 million votes cast and Chen claimed to have won 
by just 29,000 votes, or 0.2 per cent.

Furthermore, the number of invalid votes are said to have leaped 
to 337,297, a number almost triple the 122,278 votes rejected in 
the 2000 election. This number is also 11 times Chen's claimed 
margin of victory.

What is clear is that Chen, who is now under a cloud of suspicion 
and faces angry speculation about the assassination attempt, will 
preside over a divided and volatile electorate — if he is 
finally proclaimed to have won.

The USA has now given recognition to Chen's claimed victory. The 
US gives huge behind the scenes support to Chen's attempts to 
establish an "independent" Taiwan although the US has repeatedly 
declared to the People's Republic of China that it adheres to a 
"one China" policy.

In massive demonstrations thousands of supporters of the 
Kuomintang candidate demanded: "Examine the ballots, examine the 
wound".

Referendum defeat

An extremely important outcome of the election was the defeat of 
a referendum initiated by Chen which sought approval to boost 
military expenditure directed against China. This referendum was 
described by Chen as a "lynch-pin" of his campaign. The defeat of 
the referendum has been almost totally ignored in media reports 
of the Taiwanese elections.