Seeking a Fresh Mandate

Taiwan's President Chen Shui-Bian is a politician who is not afraid to pick a fight, even with China. But last week, at a rally in Taoyuan county for this Saturday's legislative election, Chen was playing peacemaker. Dressed down in a blue shirt open at the collar and a beige vest splashed with party slogans in green Chinese characters, Chen asked the throng of several thousand to give his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) the majority in the legislature that it currently lacks. If he gets it, pledged Chen, he would push to resume talks with Beijing. "I'd like to end the hostility...