Ruling Party Wins Election in Taiwan : Politics: But main opposition faction makes important gains in first democratic vote for legislature since 1949.

In an election marking a milestone for democratic development in Taiwan, the ruling Nationalist Party retained control of the island’s legislature Saturday, but the main opposition party made significant gains.

The Nationalists won 96 seats in the new 161-member Legislative Yuan, the first to be democratically chosen in Taiwan since 1949, when the Nationalist government fled here from the Chinese mainland. The opposition Democratic Progressive Party took 50 seats, the Chinese Social Democratic Party took one seat, and independents won 14.

Hsu Kuei-lin, secretary general of the Central Election Commission, said Saturday evening that the election was a key step in reforming Taiwan’s political structure.

“This is an important election in carrying out our democratic politics,” he told a news conference at ballot-counting headquarters.

Opposition supporters generally found cause for satisfaction in the results. Seats were won by at least seven former political prisoners who had served time on charges related to advocacy of permanent Taiwanese independence from China, which until recently was viewed here as seditious.

Taiwan has in effect been independent from China since 1949, when the Nationalists lost a civil war on the mainland to the Communists. But the Nationalist government still claims to be the legitimate government of all China. A key underlying issue of the election was whether this claim should be abandoned in favor of proclaiming an independent Republic of Taiwan, a step generally favored by the Democratic Progressives.

Domestic issues centered on Democratic Progressive demands for improved social services matched against Nationalist claims of superior ability to maintain stability and provide competent government. There were also many allegations of vote-buying, directed primarily against the Nationalists, who were much better financed.

Winning candidates held victory rallies, many of them outdoors, across the island Saturday night.

Typical was a raucous event, complete with firecrackers and gongs, in which about 500 people gathered to celebrate the victory of Chen Shui-bien, one of the former prisoners. Vendors worked the crowd, selling snacks while political speeches blared over loudspeakers.

“He’s done a lot for public welfare and justice, and fighting for the welfare of the ordinary people,” said Yang Chuan-neng, 69, a Chen supporter in the crowd. Yang also said he favored a declaration of Taiwan independence. Everyone nearby agreed.

Many here fear that declaring Taiwan independent might provoke an attack by Beijing, which views the island as a breakaway province and has vowed never to allow it to win international recognition as an independent nation. But Democratic Progressive activists tend to dismiss this concern.

“I’m not afraid (of a Chinese attack), because we Taiwan people are united,” said another Chen supporter, who gave only his surname, Wang.

“The only way to prevent the mainland from taking action (against Taiwan) is to proclaim independence and win recognition from the United Nations as an independent country.”

Although the election left the Nationalists in firm control of the legislature, the party’s absolute grip on power, which until a few years ago was virtually unchallengeable, has now been further eroded.

The Nationalists won just 53% of the valid votes cast, compared with 31% for the Democratic Progressives, 14% for independents and 2% for minor parties.

The rise of multi-party democracy and the gradual loosening of the Nationalists’ grip on Taiwan’s political life has its roots in the successes the Nationalists have achieved here in more than four decades of unbroken rule, commented Thomas B. Gold, chair of UC Berkeley’s Center for Chinese Studies, who is in Taiwan with a group of U.S. scholars to observe the election.

“They have raised the level of education, the standard of living, knowledge about the outside world. They’ve promoted the idea that they are creating democracy,” Gold said. “People have finally just put all that stuff together and said, ‘Well, yeah, OK, if this is Free China, let’s have some freedom, and if this is a democracy, let’s have some democracy.”

Direct elections by district were used to fill 125 seats in the new legislature, with the remaining 36 seats filled proportionally according to the number of votes received by each party. Of the votes cast for candidates running as party nominees, the Nationalists took 62% compared with 36% for the Democratic Progressives.

Analysis of the results was further complicated by the presence in the race of about 43 candidates who broke Nationalist Party discipline to run as independents. At least seven of these candidates won, including Jaw Shao-kan, who with 235,000 votes was the biggest single vote-getter in the election. If votes for these candidates are grouped with votes for Nationalist Party nominees, the ruling party could be credited with a stronger showing. But the more important meaning of these candidates’ actions and the victory of some may be that it shows a major weakening of the once strong discipline within Nationalist Party ranks.

“The (Nationalists) don’t listen to people’s voices,” Jaw said after his victory. “This may force them to compromise.” Jaw recently resigned as director of the Environmental Protection Administration after being criticized for his stringent pollution control measures.

About 70% of Taiwan’s 13 million registered voters turned out for the election. President Lee Teng-hui, in a televised address Friday, had urged voters to participate in the transition to democracy.