It’s good to see a country stand up to threats against it’s people after the pathetic display of cowardice and appeasement we witnessed in Spain. I’m anxious to see the results of the referendum on building defenses to defend against Chinese aggression.
President Chen Shui-bian narrowly won re-election Saturday, a day after being shot by a would-be assassin. His challenger suggested the attack unfairly influenced the vote and wants it nullified. Adding to Taiwan’s election drama was a separate referendum asking whether the island should beef up defenses if China refuses to withdraw missiles targeting the territory and whether to seek peace talks with Beijing. Those results were expected later Saturday. Chen won the presidential ballot with 50.12 percent of the vote, the Central Election Commission said. His opponent, Lien Chan, came away with 49.88 percent. About 13 million ballots were cast. Fireworks boomed in the night sky as ruling party lawmaker Hsiao Bi-khim addressed supporters at Chen’s headquarters, "We’ve proved to the world that we’ve won. Today’s victory is a victory for democracy and a victory for Asia." Within minutes of preliminary results showing his defeat, Lien said he would challenge the vote.
No surprise, if I lost an electon by that small a margin I’d probably ask for a recount too... |