Election, part 2

So, Taiwan's political parties are still arguing over how to recount the votes. The loser, Lien Chan, has moved the goalposts about 5 times, changing his demands to try and get the most leverage he can. President Chen has agreed to a recount, but the opposition in true contrary form, doesn't want to do it his way. Chen's suggestion is that the election law be amended so it can be conducted legally. Lien's suggestion is to declare a state of emergency and order the recount that way. Another possibility is that the opposition-dominated legislature should pass a law that if a candidate gets hurt before the election, the elecions are cancelled. Retroactively, of course.

Again, I'm no politician, but I heard from a Chinese person that even though there are lots of protesters, the KMT is losing a lot of respect for their childishness. And Taiwanese people also think that the KMT is crying foul because of their long history of playing dirty tricks. The KMT thinks, of course Chen must have cheated, because that's what they would have done. They had their way for so long, that they don't know how to handle a legitimate defeat.

Finally, matters aren't helped by the fact that Lien speaks fluent English, as does his running mate. They were both born in Mainland China and have been in government for a long time. So they can call news conferences for the international media, more personally casting doubt on the election. Chen and his vp, the horribly-dressed and confrontational Annette Lu, are both native Taiwanese (or descend from the earlier wave of Chinese migration hundreds of years ago), do not speak English. This may seem trivial, but the international news media I've been reading on-line seem to be taking Lien's side because he's been more available. The Taipei Times, though, has been blasting the nasty old man at every turn. In the 2000 election, when Lien and his running mate ran on separate tickets, Lien came in dead last, with about 23 percent of the vote. Nobody wants him, but he sure can whip up a frenzy.