Taiwan VP voices bid to lead island

Taiwan VP voices bid to lead island

TAIPEI (Reuters): Taiwan Vice President Lien Chan on Saturday
announced his hope of becoming the island's next president,
succeeding Lee Teng-hui, whose recent remarks on "special state-
to-state" ties with China infuriated Beijing.

Lien, who is Lee's carefully groomed choice, vowed to promote
peaceful cooperation and normalize ties with rival China, listing
it as one of eight reform moves he would pursue if he became
president.

"I hereby announce that I will devote myself to Taiwan, take
the challenge and seek nomination from the Nationalist Party to
run for the 10th presidency," Lien told several hundred thousand
supporters at a rally in the southern city of Tainan.

Lien said he would try to create a "win-win situation" by
normalizing ties with the mainland.

"There is only one way we can go to promote peaceful cross-
strait developments, that is, to seek mutual benefit and
prosperity, expand contacts and exchanges and normalise ties
under an equal footing," Lien said.

Lien stopped short of saying whether he stood by Lee's July 9
controversial call for "special state-to-state" relations with
China that sparked harsh Beijing condemnations and concerns from
Washington.

Beijing has viewed Taiwan as an insubordinate province since
it drove the Chinese Nationalist government into exile on the
island in 1949 after a civil war.

Communist China, which excoriated Lee as a "troublemaker," has
opposed all assertions of sovereignty by Taipei's government and
reserves the right to take the island by force if it declares
independence.

On Friday, Taipei sought to ease the row with Beijing by
clarifying that Taiwan adheres to eventual unification with the
mainland. But the clarification was snubbed by China, which
accused Taipei of breaking pledges to uphold a one-China policy.
Lien gave no further details of his mainland policy.

Lien would face challenges from popular former Taiwan governor
James Soong, who defied the Nationalist Party by announcing his
presidential bid on July 16, and from former Taipei mayor Chen
Shui-bian of the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party.

Supporters at Lien's Tainan rally beat drums and shouted "Lien
Chan, elected" when he announced his presidential bid.

But recent public opinion polls have consistently placed Soong
well ahead of Lien. Chen ranked second in the polls and Lien was
third.