Taiwan election tensions mount in countdown to vote

Chen Shui-bian, left, is a strong candidate for president in Taiwan's election

March 14, 2000
Web posted at: 10:18 a.m. HKT (0218 GMT)

By CNN Correspondent Mike Chinoy

TAIPEI, Taiwan (CNN) -- Taiwan has never seen anything like it. With less than a week to go before the island's voters choose a new president, the three leading candidates are in a virtual dead heat.

The race between independent James Soong, Vice President Lien Chan of the ruling Kuomintang Party, and Chen Shui-bian of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party is literally too close to call.

Tensions are mounting as each day goes by with much more than the presidency riding on Saturday's vote. At stake as well is the future of Taiwan's dealings with mainland China, and, possibly, the question of war or peace in the Taiwan Strait.

MESSAGE BOARD Taiwanese statehood? Inside China    VIDEO CNN's Mike Chinoy looks at the key issues in the Taiwan election Windows Media 28K 80K

The campaign has been carried out against a backdrop of increasingly stern warnings from Beijing, which considers Taiwan a renegade province. The message: China will attack if the island does not agree to begin talks on reunification.

The saber rattling has forced all the leading candidates to walk a tightrope calling for better ties with the mainland while rejecting Chinese pressure as interference in a democratic process.

"This is intimidation...the people of Taiwan have the right to choose their own leader," said independent candidate James Soong.

Nonetheless, jitters over China helped trigger a share price drop in the Taipei stock exchange Monday. Share prices dropped more than six per cent.

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