Candidate votes percentage Bian-Lu (Chen-Lu) 6,471,970 48.84% Lien-Soong 6,442,452 48.62% Invalid 337,279 2.54% Margin of victory 29,518
Posted on 03/20/2004 6:14:11 PM PST by heleny
More than 300,000 ballots spoiled as Taiwan opposition cries foul
TAIPEI: Taiwan's election officials Saturday revealed that more than 300,000 ballot papers were spoiled as the opposition claimed an "unfair" presidential battle and demanded it be annulled.
Figures released by the Central Election Commission (CEC) showed that 337,297 papers could not be used for the count, amounting to 10 times President Chen Shui-bian's winning margin.
"The KMT is to file a suit with the court for the annulling of the election," opposition Kuomintang (KMT) spokesman Chou Shou-hsun said.
"Hopefully the Central Election Commission would double check those spoiled ballots, which are way too high."
Election officials declined to give the reason for ruling out the ballots but it followed a high-profile campaign by workers' activists against both camps after a highly-personal and bitterly-fought campaign.
The group, calling itself the Alliance of One Million Invalid Ballots, dumped rotten apples outside the office of the of the CEC in the run-up to the vote to symbolise bad politicians.
The activists also called on voters to spoil their ballot papers as a sign
of their anger at the failure of the two candidates to address public policy during the campaign.
And it urged voters fed up with both camps to write "neither of the two" on their ballot papers on voting day.
"As the presidential electioneering is reduced to squabbling and mud-slinging, the public is entitled to express their disapproval of the candidates at the ballot box," protest organiser Ho Yen-tang said before the election.
"Instead of staying home and passively boycotting the election, we encourage swing voters to trek to the polling station to oppose both candidates in order to have a greater say in politics."
However, KMT supporters were furious over the number of invalid votes.
"We hope there will be a vote recount to know what the truth is," said one supporter, who would name himself only as Chen. - AFP
Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 20 March 2004 2339 hrs
Candidate votes percentage Bian-Lu (Chen-Lu) 6,471,970 48.84% Lien-Soong 6,442,452 48.62% Invalid 337,279 2.54% Margin of victory 29,518
They will try and disrupt and destroy as much as they can.
Yes, that's what the article suggests by bringing up the Million Invalid Ballots campaign by a group of workers' advocates. The government hasn't said how many of the invalid ballots were obviously intentionally invalidated (where a voter wrote out "neither of the two" or something similar).
The ballot had only two choices; there wasn't an option to write in a candidate or to choose "none of the above."
The Democrats are pretty cunning, coming up with new attacks on President Bush every week, and the Republicans are good at showing problems with Kerry all the time.
I'm not sure the KMT/PFP is that creative. They didn't have many new ideas during the campaign, and they always seemed to be playing catch-up to the DPP's ideas.
I wonder how effective the "one million invalid ballots" campaign was. If many (say, over 100,000) of the ballots turn out to have "none of the above" written on them, then it's not relevant to the recount that there are more invalid ballots this time than there were four years ago.
I hope Kerry implodes long before November!
Taiwan to Discuss Market Impact Amid Election Protest (Update8)
March 21 (Bloomberg) -- Taiwan Premier Yu Shyi-kun said the island's disputed presidential election may hurt investor confidence and convened a meeting of government officials to discuss the opening of financial markets tomorrow.Lien Chan, 67, and his opposition Nationalist Party disputed President Chen Shui-bian's victory by less than a quarter of a percentage point. Lien called on about 10,000 supporters facing off with riot police outside the president's office in Taipei to protest until a recount was ordered.
``It's not worth it to damage Taiwan's image over this election,'' Yu said in a statement, without elaborating. Yu, a member of Chen's Democratic Progressive Party, is the highest- ranking appointed government official.
Taiwan's stock benchmark gained 18 percent this year, partly on expectations a Lien victory would ease restrictions on investment in China by companies including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's biggest maker of made-to-order chips. Chen, 53, who has confronted China over its military threat to the island, won a day after he was shot in the stomach during campaigning.
``We may see a negative impact on Taiwan stocks and the currency, dragged down by this political chaos,'' said Spencer Hu, an analyst at Uni-President Asset Management Corp.
Rally
The protest in Taipei was the biggest since November 2002, when 100,000 farmers marched on the capital to protest a financial-industry cleanup. Scuffles broke out as police held back the crowd. One man climbed a scaffold brandishing a knife and tried to stab himself before he was dragged away. Others tried to scale the razor-wire barriers.
Lien told his supporters that the circumstances of Friday's shooting were ``suspicious'' and demanded an investigation led by an independent medical team, including overseas doctors.
``We want a recount and an investigation of the gunshot,'' Lien told Bloomberg in an interview.
Vice President Annette Lu, 59, grazed by bullet shot as she and Chen's motorcade made its way through the southern city of Tainan, denied the shooting was staged to win sympathy votes.
Deja Vu
It's not the first time Taiwan is trying to reassure investors after a Chen political victory. In March 2000, the government cut the daily limit by which stocks can fall by half to 3.5 percent after Chen's surprise upset in that election to end 50 years of Nationalist rule.
The benchmark TWSE index fell almost 3 percent that first business day amid concern Chen's pro-independence stance would sour relations with China.
The political disruption in Taiwan may drag the island's debt rating said Chew Ping, S&P's director for sovereign and international public finance ratings. Taiwan has a long-term foreign-currency debt rating on AA- from S&P, the fourth-best investment grade.
``Taiwan's ratings could come under pressure if economic prospects are weakened, and domestic and international confidence wanes dramatically with respect to a worsening cross-straits relationship, and public finance deteriorates further,'' Chew said.
The Taiwan government maintains a NT$500 billion fund used to buy stocks when the market is threatened by external forces. Taiwan's central bank, after the shooting on Friday, said it will maintain the stability of the local dollar.
``It's cold comfort,'' said Michael Kurz, Hong Kong-based strategist at Bear Stearns Cos. ``The fact that the central bank obviously plays a very heavy hand in the markets is reassuring, but the fact is that the markets themselves are not going to take this news very well at all.''
Inspection
Chen won by about 30,000 votes, with about a third of a million votes invalidated for improper markings, the Election Commission said.
``We demand an inspection of everything,'' said Winnie Hong, a Nationalist supporter who returned from California to vote and was among the protesters.
The High Court ordered all 13,000 ballot boxes across the island sealed. It's made no decision on whether a recount should be held. Chen won 50.1 percent of the vote to Lien's 49.9 percent. Turnout among the island's 16.5 million voters was 80.3 percent.
``We demand a recount. We demand a fair, fair election,'' James Soong, Lien's running mate, said at the rally.
China, in its first official comment on the election, gloated about the failure of a China-policy referendum Chen had placed on the ballot and noted the dispute over Chen's victory.
``Any attempt to separate Taiwan from China is doomed to failure,'' the state-run Xinhua news agency reported, citing agencies attached to the State Council, China's cabinet, and the Communist Party.
``The most telling sign is that the referendum failed despite Chen winning the election,'' said Ma Jun, who manages the equivalent of $100 million at E Fund management Co. in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. ``There is a lot of uncertainty about the outcome of the election. This may create instability. The whole election scenario, including the shooting on Friday, is just too theatrical.''
Standing Back
The referendum was invalidated because less than required 50 percent of voters marked ballots. The Nationalists had urged a boycott of the island's first referendum, which asked voters if defenses should be strengthened in face of Chinese missiles pointed at them. It also asked if dialogue with China on peaceful relations should be reopened.
China had opposed the referendum, claiming it was a dress rehearsal for a vote on independence in 2008. Chen's pro- independence stance has provoked recriminations from China for the four years of his first term. China regards Taiwan as a renegade province and has threatened to use military force if peaceful reunification isn't forthcoming.
The U.S., Taiwan's chief military protector, urged calm in resolving the election dispute.
``It's very significant that up to now, Chen hasn't got a congratulatory note from the U.S.,'' said Bruce Gale, a political analyst at Hill & Associates Ltd. in Singapore. ``That means the U.S. is standing back. They are not giving him their blessing, so he's going to have to earn it. He's going to have to say `I'm a team player here and I'm not going to rock the boat.'''
No arrests have been made in the shooting incident that injured the two Democratic Progressive Party candidates. No motive has disclosed, and no police report on the progress of the investigation has appeared in the Taiwan media.
Is the White House waiting for the results to be confirmed by a recount, or are they planning to announce that they've congratulated the Taiwanese candidates on Monday?
After all, President Bush called Mr. Zapatero last Monday after he won the election in Spain last Sunday, and Pres. Bush also called Spanish Prime Minister Aznar that day.
Are there any comments by the vacationing Kerry, or is he afraid to mention foreign leaders lest reporters bring up the subject of foreign endorsements? (He's got to establish some sort of a position so that he can flip-flop later!)
It's like Bush wants to lose his election come Novemeber.
Reprehensibly?
It's like Bush wants to lose his election come Novemeber.
How President Bush deals with Taiwan isn't a big issue among most voters. Kerry can't make it a campaign issue, because his party does not support Taiwan more than the Republicans. I saw images of the protestors on ABC, but I'm not even sure CNN or FNC are even mentioning Taiwan anymore.
If Bush is going to lose the election over a single issue, it would more likely be over spending, immigration, or the economy.
The US has congratulated Taiwan for conducting a democratic election, but has not congratulated Chen, the winner. Maybe we're waiting for this to be resolved (such as if there's a recount) or for Lien to concede. In 2000, did other world leaders congratulate Bush before Gore conceded?
I am a Bush supporter.
If the election were today I wouldn't vote for him.
He shouldn't be cavalier just because it is a low interest issue.
Well, I have nobody better to vote for than Bush, since the only other candidate with a chance at getting electoral votes is Kerry. Unfortunately, my state (CA) will probably deliver all 55 votes to him.
Given only the choice of either Bush or Kerry, Bush is the stronger promoter of freedom. Also, if Bush wins this November, the 2008 winner is more likely to be Republican; if Kerry wins in November, he's more likely to be reelected in 2008.
Maybe we're just waiting for Taiwan to sort out its election results. They still have two months until their inauguration, so maybe the US will recognize the winner by then.
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