Chen Shui-bian

The three-party opposition, known as the "blue team," won 114 of the total 225 seats, the Central Election Commission said. The president's coalition, called the "green team," finished with 101 seats. Independents got 10.

The Nationalists, or Kuomintang, the party of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek that fled the mainland in 1949 and is committed to some form of reunification, emerged the biggest winner, taking 79 seats, up from 68 in 2001.

Lien Chan

"People want peace across the Taiwan Strait and social harmony and economic development," said Lien Chan, leader of the Nationalists, celebrating the opposition's first victory in the last four major elections.

Chen's Democratic Progressive Party remained the single largest party but gained only two seats for a total of 89. Along with its hardline pro-independence ally, the Taiwan Solidarity Union, they control just 101 seats.

The Japan Times Weekly: Dec. 18, 2004
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