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When James Soong left the Kuomintang (KMT) prior to Taiwan's 2000 presidential race, he essentially
handed the election to Chen Shui-bian and his upstart Democratic Progressive Party. Soong, running as
an independent, outpolled the KMT's nominee, then-Vice President Lien Chan, 36.8% to 23.1%. Chen,
however, took 39.3%, putting an end to more than 50 years of KMT rule. But three years in the
political wilderness seem to have thawed the friction between Soong and Lien, andon Valentine's
Day, appropriately enoughthey announced that they would join forces against Chen in the next
election, in March...