-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a prelude to war! FOCUS-Taiwan president-elect woos China Updated 8:52 AM ET March 18, 2000 By Andrew Browne TAIPEI, March 18 (Reuters) - Risking Beijing's fury, Taiwan voters on Saturday elected as president the leader of a pro-independence party, but Chen Shui-bian offered immediately to make a "journey of reconciliation" to the mainland. Jubilant supporters of Chen set off firecrackers after his dramatic victory that ended more than five decades of Nationalist Party rule in crushing style. Chen narrowly defeated independent James Soong. Lien Chan, candidate of the Nationalist Party which has ruled Taiwan since 1945, trailed a distant third. There was no immediate response from China, which has threatened to invade if Taiwan declared independence. Beijing has issued a stream of ominous threats about the possibility of a Chen win, with Premier Zhu Rongji warning last week that if Taiwan's voters acted impulsively they might not get a second chance. However, in his first public comments as president-elect, Chen extended an olive branch to Beijing. "Before my inauguration I hope to make a journey of reconciliation to China," he said. Chen will be sworn into office on May 20. "Our goal is reconciliation with good intentions, active cooperation and eternal peace," he told a news conference. CHEN OFFERS PEACE PACT Chen said he welcomed a visit to the island by Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji and wanted to talk with them about opening direct trade, travel and investment links. He also proposed a "peace agreement" and "military confidence-building" measures, without elaborating. "Safety in the Taiwan Strait is the common expectation of peoples on the two sides," he said. Nevertheless, he rejected as "unacceptable" China's "one country, two systems" formula for reunification, saying Taiwan would not follow in the steps of Hong Kong and Macau. Chen's Democratic Progressive Party openly espouses independence, but Chen backpedaled on the issue to avoid scaring voters. He has promised that if elected he would not hold a referendum on independence or change the flag and constitution. The final official tally showed Chen with 4.9 million votes, Soong with 4.6 million and Lien with 2.9 million. Turnout among Taiwan's 15.46 million eligible voters was 82.69 percent. Tens of thousands of Chen's supporters thronged a huge stage outside his campaign headquarters blowing plastic horns, cheering and singing. "President Chen, President Chen," they chanted. LIEN SAYS "I'M SORRY" A subdued Lien, wearing a dark suit and with his former beauty queen wife by his side, conceded defeat at his party's headquarters. "I feel very sorry," he said in hushed tones, bowing his head. "I've let down everybody's high hopes." The Nationalists have run Taiwan since 1945, when the island was handed back to China by Japanese colonisers at the end of World War Two. The Nationalists then held power on the mainland. In 1949, the Nationalists led by generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan after their defeat in civil war at the hands of the Communist Red Army. They ruled for four decades under martial law before ushering in democracy. Before the results were announced, Taiwan's military pledged to back whoever won. "On behalf of the armed forces, I hereby pledge to the would-be commander-in-chief that the armed forces will be loyal, make sacrifices and contributions, and defend the national security of the Republic of China," Chief of Staff Tang Yao-ming said in a statement. Democratic reforms introduced since the late 1980s have de-politicised Taiwan's 400,000-strong military. In the face of fresh threats from China, Defence Minister Tang Fei has instructed the military to "increase their overall alertness and strengthen their guard," the statement said. It quoted Tang as saying Taiwan "did not seek war, but neither did it fear conflict." "We are reborn," said Chiang Cheng-hui, a 27-year-old accountant waving a flag of the Democratic Progressive Party, which was born 14 years ago in the days of martial law. **COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. 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