Four years ago, Taiwanese cast votes in the island's first ever direct presidential election as China lobbed missiles into the Taiwan Strait. This time around, the fireworks are coming not from the Chinese mainland, but from a three-way, neck-and-neck race that has Taiwan's ruling Nationalist Party (KMT) pulling out all the stops to remain in power.
Going into today's election, Democratic Progressive Party candidate Chen Shui-bian, the former mayor of Taipei who is running on an anticorruption platform, seems to have the most momentum behind him.
Meanwhile, the KMT is casting about for ways to save its candidate, Vice President Lien Chan, who has run a lackluster campaign despite the benefits of a robust economy and popular president behind him. Lien's problems have been compounded by the breakaway candidacy of James Soong, a former KMT heavyweight who has lured away many of the party's traditional supporters.
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