Another take on Taiwan vote

January 18, 2008

Houston Chronicle

I would like to offer a different view about the Jan. 13 article "Taiwanese pick pro-China party in vote for legislature / Nationalists now seem poised to take presidency": Taiwan's opposition Nationalist Party won the victory because of the severely flawed election system. The opposition party gained about 51 percent of the vote, versus 40 percent for the Democratic Progressive Party. Each party retained its power base if one looks at the total numbers of votes. A lower voter turnout should also be taken into account. The Nationalist Party appeared to do better at "getting out the vote" this time and made extensive use of its vast assets as a big advantage. And a strong pro-Nationalist party bias in the media is also a major factor in overall tilt of the playing field against the DPP.

ZEN-YU CHANG
Conroe, TX