Shot president wins election

2004-03-20 19:35

Taipei, Taiwan - President Chen Shui-bian narrowly won re-election on Saturday a day after being shot in an assassination attempt, but a referendum he had championed on beefing up defenses against China failed because not enough voters took part.

Challenger Lien Chan, demanded the election results be nullified, saying the shooting may have swayed the vote and that there were more than 330 000 invalid ballots - 10 times Chen's margin of victory.

The referendum's failure was a big blow to Chen. It had asked whether the island should beef up defences against China and seek talks with Beijing, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan though they've been governed separately since 1949.

The opposition Nationalist Party argued that Chen did not have the legal authority to call the referendum and urged people to skip the vote.

Chen shrugged off the defeat in his victory speech, saying people didn't seem to understand the referendum's contents. But he appealed to China to respect the election.

"It is a new era for solidarity and harmony and a new era for peace across the Taiwan Strait," Chen said. "We sincerely ask the Beijing authorities across the strait to view the election results from a positive perspective, to accept the democratic decision of the Taiwanese people."

Chen's opponents, meanwhile, said they were sending lawyers to the High Court to file a petition on nullifying the election. Police with riot gear lined up outside as a precaution, rolling out barbed wire and bringing dogs, but only a small crowd gathered.

"It's as if we're not selecting a president but instead selecting an emperor," grumbled Nationalist supporter Tom Lu, an engineer who drove three hours from Changhwa to be in the capital. "This is a joke."

- AP