Taiwan President Wins Election; Opposition Balks
Taiwan President Chen Shui- bian won re-election to a second term a day after he was wounded by gunshots while campaigning. He defeated Nationalist Party leader Lien Chan by a quarter of a percentage point.The Nationalists claimed the election was unfair and said they won't accept result. ``We will ask the court to void the election,'' Lien told a crowd of his supporters at his campaign headquarters in Taipei. He said circumstances surrounding the shootings that slightly wounded Chen and Vice President Annette Lu were ``suspicious'' and had affected the vote.
Surely if a dead guy can win a Senate seat in Missouri, then a wounded guy can win re-election without any problems.
Still, this could get ugly--and, indeed:
The Nationalists' refusal to accept the result of the island's third direct election of a president may cast doubts on the maturity of Taiwan's political institutions.
Plus, the referendum, failed, so I guess the sympathy vote only goes so far:
A referendum Chen put on the ballot asking voters if the island's defenses should be strengthened in face of Chinese missiles pointed at them was invalidated because it received less than the required 50 percent participation by voters. A companion question about opening dialogue with China also failed to receive enough votes. Lien had urged a boycott of the referendum questions.Posted by Steven Taylor at March 20, 2024 08:51 AM | TrackBack