NYT: Toward a Recount in Taiwan


	Toward a Recount in Taiwan
March 25, 2004 Now that Taiwan's president, Chen Shui-bian, has wisely agreed to a proposal from the opposition Nationalist Party for a prompt, legislatively ordered recount of his apparently wafer-thin re-election victory, some Nationalists seem to be having second thoughts. They seem to be calculating that their chances may be better if they can persuade a court to invalidate last weekend's election and order a new vote. It is time to set such maneuvering aside and move ahead to a recount. That would help reinforce the democracy, which so clearly distinguishes the island from the Communist mainland. It should also help calm the divisive passions the election controversy has rekindled between the descendants of mainland families who fled to Taiwan after the Chinese civil war and the families who have lived in Taiwan for many generations. That historic antagonism had been easing with the passage of time and with the welcome transformation of the Nationalist Party from its mainlander roots into a modern democratic party with broad islandwide appeal. Mr. Chen, who four years ago became the first opposition candidate to win the presidency, is a controversial figure at home and abroad. His Democratic Progressive Party has long promoted the idea of a distinctive Taiwanese national identity, and its most militant members support outright independence, a development that mainland China says it would wage war to prevent. President Chen's language on independence-related issues has been ambiguous. Beijing, and most Taiwanese, believe that independence remains his ultimate goal. Washington, which is committed to defend Taiwan against any unprovoked attack, has rightly warned against needlessly rousing the mainland's ire. Mr. Chen won his first term by getting 39.1 percent of the vote in a multicandidate race in 2000. With only two main contenders in this year's contest, he needed to increase his support above 50 percent. Before the mysterious shooting incident last Friday that slightly wounded Mr. Chen and his running mate, he was expected to fall just short. But the initial election results showed Mr. Chen winning with 50.1 percent; Lien Chan of the Nationalist Party had 49.9 percent, losing by fewer than 30,000 votes. By withholding judgment on the result, Washington added to the pressure for a recount. If a recount confirms Mr. Chen as the winner, Washington, Beijing and the Nationalists should embrace the democratic verdict. Mr. Chen, for his part, needs to understand that even if he has won a second term, the voters have given him no mandate to move toward independence.

New York Times

Toward a Recount in Taiwan

March 25, 2004

Now that Taiwan's president, Chen Shui-bian, has wisely agreed to a proposal from the opposition Nationalist Party for a prompt, legislatively ordered recount of his apparently wafer-thin re-election victory, some Nationalists seem to be having second thoughts. They seem to be calculating that their chances may be better if they can persuade a court to invalidate last weekend's election and order a new vote. It is time to set such maneuvering aside and move ahead to a recount.

That would help reinforce the democracy, which so clearly distinguishes the island from the Communist mainland. It should also help calm the divisive passions the election controversy has rekindled between the descendants of mainland families who fled to Taiwan after the Chinese civil war and the families who have lived in Taiwan for many generations. That historic antagonism had been easing with the passage of time and with the welcome transformation of the Nationalist Party from its mainlander roots into a modern democratic party with broad islandwide appeal.

Mr. Chen, who four years ago became the first opposition candidate to win the presidency, is a controversial figure at home and abroad. His Democratic Progressive Party has long promoted the idea of a distinctive Taiwanese national identity, and its most militant members support outright independence, a development that mainland China says it would wage war to prevent. President Chen's language on independence-related issues has been ambiguous. Beijing, and most Taiwanese, believe that independence remains his ultimate goal. Washington, which is committed to defend Taiwan against any unprovoked attack, has rightly warned against needlessly rousing the mainland's ire.

Mr. Chen won his first term by getting 39.1 percent of the vote in a multicandidate race in 2000. With only two main contenders in this year's contest, he needed to increase his support above 50 percent. Before the mysterious shooting incident last Friday that slightly wounded Mr. Chen and his running mate, he was expected to fall just short. But the initial election results showed Mr. Chen winning with 50.1 percent; Lien Chan of the Nationalist Party had 49.9 percent, losing by fewer than 30,000 votes. By withholding judgment on the result, Washington added to the pressure for a recount.

If a recount confirms Mr. Chen as the winner, Washington, Beijing and the Nationalists should embrace the democratic verdict. Mr. Chen, for his part, needs to understand that even if he has won a second term, the voters have given him no mandate to move toward independence.