Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian's controversial reelection, being contested by the opposition, has left the island’s business interests and the Chinese government disgruntled, according to Business Week.
Chen narrowly defeated Kuomintang (KMT) leader Lien Chan on March 20, following an assassination attempt a day earlier which Lien’s followers are intimating was staged by Chen. The KMT has since been holding mass rallies and demanding a recount. Business Week’s Bruce Einhorn reports “if Chen's victory is confirmed, that's not likely to please the thousands of Taiwan businesses that are becoming ever more dependent on trade with China, and whose leaders generally back Lien's party...” The Chinese, meanwhile, are less concerned about Chen, then about his largely pro-American Democratic Progressive Party base which is looking forward to winning control of the legislature in December, writing a new constitution, and holding a referendum on independence in 2008. The Chinese have threatened war, but, as Einhorn notes, their economic leverage– they can threaten to cut trade ties and lure Taiwanese capital to the mainland – should be sufficient to deter any formal steps towards independence. BW article available on www.supportingfacts.com Sorry for any cross posting.
