TAIWAN
Three charged in Chen shooting
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Chen Shui-bian
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Three men were charged Sept. 10 in connection with an election eve assassination attempt on President Chen Shui-bian, the first breakthrough in a mysterious shooting the opposition said was staged to win his re-election.
The three were charged with possession of homemade bullets that investigators say matched those used in the shooting of Chen while he campaigned March 19, the day before the presidential election, prosecutors said.
Chen's re-election enraged the opposition Nationalists, who said his victory was a result of a wave of sympathy votes following the shooting, and said they suspected the attack was staged.
Chen and Vice President Annette Lu were slightly wounded as they drove through the southern city of Tainan in an open-top jeep.
Based on shell casings and a bullet recovered at the scene of the shooting, investigators believe Chen and Lu were shot by homemade bullets fired from a replica pistol altered to fire live ammunition.
The Japan Times Weekly: Sept. 18, 2004 (C) All rights reserved
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