Refusing to be cowed by China's military maneuvers, Taiwan's people ventured out to the polls Saturday, creating history as they participated in the island's first direct election for president. A heavy turnout is expected despite threats from Beijing, which has held missile tests and military maneuvers near Taiwan to intimidate the island as it seeks to forge its own identity and gain worldwide political acceptance. China's live-fire exercises and war games have prompted the United States to assemble two giant aircraft carriers in the region. Apart from electing a president, voters Saturday will also choose representatives to fill 334 seats in the National Assembly.
China regards Taiwan as a renegade province.
But Lee, who denies he wants to cut ties with the mainland, was in a rebellious mood at an election-eve rally Friday. Bullets cannot resist a democratic government. Peng Ming-min, jailed for advocating independence in the didactic 1960s, is Lee's main challenger. Christopher to meet Chinese foreign minister On the world stage, tensions between Beijing and Washington showed no sign of abating as the visit to the United States by Chinese Defense Minister Chi Haotian was postponed. But Secretary of State Warren Christopher still plans to meet Foreign Minister Qian Qichen in Europe in April, the State Department said.