DATE=3/24/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHINA - LEE REACT (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-260545
BYLINE=STEPHANIE MANN
DATELINE=BEIJING
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: China has acknowledged the resignation of Lee
Teng-hui as the head of Taiwan's Nationalist Party,
saying he was forced out by public pressure. V-O-A
correspondent Stephanie Mann reports from Beijing,
news coverage by China's state-run media has
emphasized the turmoil in the Nationalist Party in the
wake of Saturday's presidential election on Taiwan.
TEXT: China's official Xinhua news agency says Lee
Teng-hui was forced to announce his resignation today
(Friday) as chairman of the Nationalist Kuomintang
Party because of mounting pressure from public
opinion.
Xinhua says the Kuomintang suffered a humiliating
defeat in the election, and demands for Mr. Lee's
resignation became louder and louder. The report says
calls for his immediate resignation spread from
Kuomintang headquarters in Taipei to other parts of
the island and to overseas.
The Xinhua story also says Mr. Lee's resignation was
greeted with loud applause from the crowd that
gathered around the party headquarters. While the
government has not issued an official reaction to Mr.
Lee's resignation, the Xinhua story indicates that he
brought about his own downfall.
China has been openly critical of Lee Teng-hui since
1995 when he made an unofficial trip to the United
States. Beijing has labeled him a "splittist" for his
efforts to raise Taiwan's international status and for
his insistence that China and Taiwan treat each other
as equals.
In the week since the Taiwan election, China's state-
run media have reported the dissension within the
Kuomintang, and television newscasts have shown scenes
of rioting and violence in Taipei. Other developments
have not been reported, such as the decision by
Taiwan's parliament to allow some direct trade and
mail links with the mainland.
Mr. Lee's party has ruled Taiwan for more than 50
years, just as the Communist Party has ruled on the
mainland for the same five decades. Saturday's
election on Taiwan was the first time Chinese voters
have ousted a ruling party under a democratic system.
Although the Xinhua story was primarily about Mr.
Lee's resignation, it also notes that James Soong was
the runner-up in the election and adds that he will
form a new political party. But the report makes no
mention of the man who won the election, Chen Shui-
bian.
// REST OPTIONAL //
Before the election, China warned Taiwan's voters not
to cast their ballots for Mr. Chen, whose Democratic
Progressive Party advocates Taiwan independence.
China has said his victory does not change the fact
that Taiwan is part of China and any talks between
Taiwan's new leader and the mainland should be based
on the one-China principle. Since the election, China
has not repeated its threat to use force to reunite
Taiwan with the mainland, but Chinese officials say
they are watching what Mr. Chen says and does.
On Taiwan, Lee Teng-hui has been highly regarded and
called "Mr. Democracy," for leading the island out of
authoritarian one-party rule. But Mr. Lee is blamed
for the Kuomintang's election defeat because he
allowed popular politician James Soong to leave the
party and run as an independent presidential
candidate. His candidacy drew voters away from
Kuomintang candidate Lien Chan, who finished a distant
third. (Signed)
NEB/SMN/FC/PLM
24-Mar-2000 04:05 AM EDT (24-Mar-2000 0905 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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