Reax to Taiwan's KMT winning legislative election

(12 Jan 2008) ++INTERIOR SHOTS++ 1. Wide of opposition Nationalist party (KMT) supporters watching election results on TV 2. Close-up TV screen showing election results 3. KMT supporters chanting, UPSOUND (Mandarin): "Victory for Mr. Ma, Victory for Mr. Ma" 4. KMT supporter cheering with champagne 5. Zoom in supporters cheering and holding Ma figurine ++NIGHT SHOT++ 6. Tilt up from KMT supporters cheering to fireworks in the sky ++INTERIOR SHOTS++ 7. KMT members bowing to public, AUDIO: applause 8. Staff clapping hands, AUDIO: applause 9. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) Ma Ying-jeou, Nationalist presidential candidate: "We need to be cautious about the presidential poll and hopefully we can win the presidential election. And with a Nationalist presidency and Nationalist-controlled legislature, we can push forward the reform expected by the Taiwanese people." 10. KMT members applauding on stage ++NIGHT SHOTS++ 11. KMT supporters cheering on the street 12. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) Mr. Liu, Vox Pop: "I think people in Taiwan are smart enough to choose the right party and right official for securing our benefits." ++INTERIOR SHOTS++ 13. Wide shot of Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian walking to microphone at Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) news conference 14. Cutaway to cameramen 15. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) Chen Shui-bian, Taiwanese President and chairman of the DPP: "I should shoulder all responsibilities, so I officially announce here that I resign the party chairmanship from now on." 16. Zoom in Chen shaking hands with party members STORYLINE Taiwan's opposition Nationalist Party won a landslide victory in legislative elections on Saturday, giving a big boost to its policy of closer engagement with China two months before a presidential poll it now seems poised to win. President Chen Shui-bian, who has been criticised for aggravating relations with China by promoting policies to formalise Taiwan's de facto independence from the mainland, resigned as chairman of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, immediately after the extent of the defeat became clear. "I should shoulder all responsibilities," Chen said. His resignation does not affect his status as president. With all votes counted, the official Central Election Commission said the Nationalists had won 81 seats in the 113-seat Legislature, against only 27 for the DPP, with four going to Nationalist-leaning independents, and one to a Nationalist satellite party. Critics say Chen's China policies have allowed Taiwan's once-vibrant economy to lose competitiveness, and have ratcheted up tension in the perennially edgy Taiwan Strait. Washington has made it clear it finds Chen's policies toward Beijing dangerous and provocative, particularly a planned referendum on Taiwanese membership in the United Nations, which appears designed to underscore the self-governing, democratic island's political separateness from the communist mainland. A March 22 presidential election to chose a successor to Chen, who must step down after eight years in office, pits Frank Hsieh of Chen's DPP against the Nationalists' Ma Ying-jeou. Recent opinion polls give Ma a 20-point lead and Saturday's win by his party is likely to give a further boost to Hsieh, a former premier of the island. The DPP wants to make official the independence the island has had since Taiwan and China split amid civil war nearly 60 years ago, but the party has held off, out of fears that China would carry out its repeated threats to attack. In contrast, the Nationalists favour more active engagement with China, and do not rule out eventual unification. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...