Taiwanese vote after assassination attempt

Hours after an assassination attempt against President Chen Shui-bian, Taiwanese started voting today in a hotly-contested election focused on the military threat from mainland China.

Gunfire hit Chen in the stomach and Vice President Annette Lu in the knee as they rode in an open-top jeep through the president’s southern hometown of Tainan yesterday.

Neither leader was seriously wounded, and some analysts speculated the bizarre shooting could win Chen sympathy votes.

Besides picking a president, Taiwanese also are voting in their first referendum. It asks if Taiwan should beef up defences if China refuses to withdraw missiles targeting the territory, and whether to seek peace talks with Beijing.

Surrounded by bodyguards armed with submachine guns, Chen slowly strolled into a voting station in the capital, Taipei. He walked stiffly, looking wan and serious, but smiled slightly as he dropped his ballot in the box.

Dressed in a cream zip-up jacket, a defiant Chen told reporters that gunshots would never derail Taiwan’s democracy.

“It doesn’t matter where the bullet came from, A-bian won’t be struck down,” Chen said, referring to himself by his nickname. “And even if I were struck down, this could not strike down the aspirations of Taiwan’s 23 million people for democracy and liberty.”

Earlier, the challenger, ex-Vice President Lien Chan, urged voters not to be swayed by their emotions as he cast his ballot. “We must be brave and calm,” he said.

Chinese leaders have denounced the referendum, which they fear is a rehearsal for a vote on Taiwanese independence.

The two sides split when the communists took over the Chinese mainland in 1949. Beijing wants Taiwan to rejoin the mainland and has threatened to attack if Taiwan seeks a permanent split.

China broke its official silence early today, saying only that the government was following developments. It failed to join other Asian governments in wishing Chen a quick recovery.

The noncommittal, two-sentence statement by Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office reflected a dilemma over how to respond without boosting the popularity of a Taiwanese leader that the communist mainland government reviles as a liar and traitor.

“We’ve taken note of the shooting at Chen Shui-bian and Annette Lu,” said its statement, carried by the official Xinhua News Agency. “We’ll continue to follow the developments.”

Taiwanese officials refused to speculate about who staged the assassination attempt. Police said there might have been two assailants firing from different directions. One bullet ended up in Chen’s jacket pocket, another under the seat of the vehicle.

Investigators were ruling out conspiracies or China’s involvement in the shooting and treating it like a general criminal case, said Tainan prosecutor Wang Sen-jung.

The election has been an emotional race dominated by negative campaigning - even though Lien and Chen agree on China policy.

Neither candidate favours immediate unification, and both highly distrust the Communist leadership.

Chen has been more aggressive in pushing for a Taiwanese identity separate from China, though, raising tensions with Beijing.

Before yesterday’s shooting, Chen had been running a neck-and-neck race with Lien Chan. But some analysts said the attack could end up giving him an edge in the tight race.