SINGAPORE -- In the runup to Taiwan's presidential election on March 20, political sparks are flying not only in Taiwan but also in China and the United States. Moreover, the commemoration in Taiwan of the Feb. 28, 1947, killing of some 10,000 Taiwanese by Kuomintang (KMT) troops -- otherwise known as the 2-28 celebrations -- has provided an occasion to defy the mainland further ahead of the elections and referendum. The 2-28 "Hand-in-Hand to Protect Taiwan" rally, organized by the Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, of Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian, linked between 1 1/2 million and 2 million people in a human chain from Hoping Island to southern Changlung, sending the mainland wishes of peace as well as a message of defiance toward the 496 Chinese missiles pointed at Taiwan.

Mixed in was Chen's election campaign slogan of "Taiwan Yes! Believe in Taiwan." The incumbent called this show of force the "Great Wall of Democracy and a Great Wall of Peace."

Meanwhile, the camp, comprising Lien Chan's KMT and James Soong's Peoples First Party, or PFP, held commemorative "heart-to-heart" rallies as runners circled the island. In a commemorative gesture, Lien said Feb. 28 should be designated National Blood Donation Day.