World IN BRIEF : TAIWAN : Former Dissident to Run for President
A former dissident who spent 22 years in exile and advocates Taiwan’s independence from China was chosen to represent the main opposition party in inaugural presidential elections in March. Peng Ming-min, 72, won by a comfortable majority to become the Democratic Progressive Party’s candidate for the 1996 polls. Once jailed on sedition charges in the 1960s, Peng is running on a controversial pro-independence platform. China, which views Taiwan as a rebel province, maintains a threat to attack the island if it formally declares independence.
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