Opposition Nationalist Party Scores Big Victory in Taiwan Parliamentary Elections

Independence for Taiwan took a hit on Saturday as the opposition Nationalist Party scored a massive victory in parliamentary elections, effectively ending President Chen Shui-bian’s hopes for his country asserting a separate identity from China.

The Nationalist Party is on the opposite end of Chen’s Democratic Progressive Party when it comes to the islands relationship with China. While the DPP seeks greater independence, the Nationalist Party favors closer ties to the mainland.

Saturday’s vote ushered in 86 new Nationalist members to parliament, representing 72 percent of the total. The DPP carried just 24 percent of the vote and now hold a meager 27 seats in the 113-member parliament.

The parliamentary vote seems to be a sign of what’s to come as Chen is scheduled to leave office in March after serving eight years and the DPP’s presidential candidate, Frank Hsieh, currently trails Nationalist candidate Ma Ying-jeou by nearly 20 points in opinion polls.

For more World related stories please go to:

http://news.finditt.com/NewsList.aspx?cat=11&wcat=1