Taiwan leader survives assassin's bullet

TAIWANESE President Chen Shui-bian and his vice-president survived an apparent assassination attempt yesterday when bullets were fired into their motorcade on the eve of a landmark election.

Mr Chen was grazed in the stomach and Vice President Annette Lu was hit in the right knee.

No arrests were reported and it was not clear what the motivation was for the apparent assassination attempt in a street choked with supporters of the president in his home town, the southern city of Tainan.

Officials declined to speculate about who fired the shots.

About five hours after the shooting, the president left the hospital to return to the capital, Taipei. He did not comment as he stepped into a 4X4 vehicle and drove to the airport to board the presidential plane.

"They did not suffer life-threatening injuries. They urge the public to cool down," said Chiou I-jen, secretary-general in the presidential office. He said the president "can still direct the nation's affairs".

Doctors showed pictures of a 4.4 inch wound just under Mr Chen's navel.

Chan Chi-hsien, head of Chi Mei Hospital where Mr Chen was being treated, said the bullet did not go deep into the president's body.

The presidential election, which appears to be a tight race, and referendum will go ahead as planned today, an election official said.

Rival parties decided to suspend their campaigns so that social order could be better maintained.

Chen was riding in a red convertible 4X4 vehicle and waving to crowds lining the streets when he was shot. People were setting off celebratory fireworks as he drove by and early media reports said he was injured by firecrackers.

"It was definitely a gun attack," Mr Chiou said.

"The vice-president first felt pain in her knee and she thought it was caused by firecrackers," Mr Chiou said. "Then the president felt some wetness on his stomach area, and then they realised something was wrong."

It was the first time a Taiwanese president had been shot.