March 24, 2004

TAIPEI - The deal over a recount for Taiwan's disputed presidential election fell apart on Wednesday after the leader of the Kuomintang (KMT) opposition overruled the party's negotiator, the KMT spokesman said.

A deal had been thrashed out by the party's policy chief and opposition parties that could have led to a recount next week to end a crisis that has grippped the island since President Chen Shui-bian's narrow re-election on Saturday.

But Tseng Yung-chuan was overruled by the party's chairman and losing presidential election candidate Lien Chan, 67, during a meeting of senior figures in the party, according to the KMT spokesman Chou Shou-tsun.

Earlier on Wednesday, the KMT and President Chen's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had agreed for parliament to meet on Friday to back a change to the election law.

The deal could have seen a ballot recount as early as April 3, and came after Mr Chen rejected a plan to issue an emergency decree for a vote recount.

President Chen -- who won the election by less than 1 per cent -- agreed to a recount after Taiwan's stock market fell nearly 10 per cent over two days and hundreds of protestors continued to camp outside the presidential office in the capital Taipei.

His challenger Mr Lien had demanded a recount. But moves to amend the law broke up in fighting in parliament after the opposition said it wanted it to be immediate.

According to current laws, it could take the courts up to six months to decide whether a recount is needed. -- AFP, AP


SEEKING 'HEALING'

President Chen sought to calm the political crisis on Wednesday, seeking advice from opinion leaders about how to 'heal the splits' in the island's society.

He said he was meeting with 10 opinion leaders -- including a newspaper publisher, famous writer Bo Yang and a Red Cross head -- to find ways to increase social harmony.

'How do we unify Taiwan and heal the splits between groups?' he asked. 'I'd like to have your valuable views and opinions as guidelines for my next four years in office.'

During the election, the Kuomintang frequently accused Mr Chen of inflaming the social divisions between opposition supporters who were mostly 'mainlanders' -- people whose families fled to Taiwan from China 1949 -- and DPP supporters known as 'native Taiwanese' whose ancestors migrated from China centuries ago.

The opposition also said Mr Chen unfairly suggested that Mr Lien was in cahoots with rival China and would sell out Taiwan if elected.

The President said his campaign was not divisive. -- AP

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