Taiwan casts votes for new 'legislature'
(chinadaily.com.cn/Agencies)
Updated: 2004-12-11 16:08

Taiwan voters went to the polls to pick a new "parliament" on Saturday, starting form 9:00 am in the morning.

Under sunny skies, eligible voters queued up in schools and temples to cast their ballots.

"The race will decide who has control of parliament. I urge every voter not to give up their chance because it is about our future," said Taipei Nationalist Mayor Ma Ying-jeou after casting his vote.

Pan-blue group led by the Nationalist Party now holds 51 percent of the Legislative Yuan's 225 seats.

"I've lived here for decades. The Nationalists gave me a house to live and I will never vote for anyone else," 79-year-old retiree Chao Fu Chu-lan.

"If we win, people can expect peace across the Taiwan Strait," Lien Zhan, leader of the pan-blue Nationalist Party, told reporters after walking out of voting booths.

Voting booths will close at 4:00 p.m. (0800 GMT) and the first results are expected to trickle in within an hour.

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