Pro-China party in landslide election win
Pro-China party in landslide election win.... http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23045209-38196,00.html From correspondents in Taipei January 13, 2008 01:34am TAIWAN'S opposition nationalist Kuomintang (KMT), which favours closer ties with China, has won a landslide victory in the island's parliamentary election. The central election commission announced that KMT won 81 of the 113 seats in the new legislature. Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian had already conceded defeat and said he would resign as head of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The Kuomintang and its allies have secured a more than two-thirds majority of 86 seats in the 113-seat legislature, KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung told a press conference at party headquarters televised live islandwide. "We give our deepest appreciation for today's election result," Mr Wu said with other party leaders at his side, including presidential hopeful Ma Ying-jeou. "We understand that you have put your faith in us, but our joy should last for only one night. Starting tomorrow, we will have more responsibilities to undertake." "I promise we will not abuse the power of the majority but we will use it to stabilise society and unite people, and we will respect the minority in parliament," Mr Wu said. The election commission has not yet released its official results, with an announcement expected at 1:30am AEDT. If confirmed, the KMT's score would deal a devastating blow to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of independence-leaning Chen Shui-bian. Mr Chen has been blamed for raising tensions with China and for failing to revive Taiwan's sluggish technology-heavy economy - the two issues that have dominated both the parliamentary campaign and the race for the presidency. At DPP headquarters, sources said only 13 of the party's candidates had declared victory in their districts. Hey Alex, have you seen this? I think you may be wrong about China and Taiwan going to war as Taiwan appears to want closer ties to China. MD