TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian survived an assassination attempt Friday while campaigning on the eve of a presidential election, escaping with a bullet wound to the stomach.
Vice President Annette Lu was also wounded in the attack in the southern city of Tainan but was not badly hurt, officials said. The pair were rushed to hospital, but a hospital official said later that they had left to fly back to the capital.
Officials said Saturday's election would go ahead as planned.
Chen and Lu had been traveling in an open-top jeep through Tainan streets, waving to crowds, when unknown assailants shot at them at 1:45 p.m. (12:45 a.m. EST).
Police said they believed two standard handguns had been used and at least two shots fired. They had yet to make any arrests.
China had no immediate comment. Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province to be recovered, by force if necessary.
Chen, who was not wearing a bullet-proof vest, was rushed to hospital in Tainan, his home town, where he received 14 stitches in a five-inch long, one-inch deep wound. Television reports said the 54-year-old president was able to walk in for treatment.
Lu, 59, was hit in the right leg and had to be assisted but her condition was not serious, officials said.
It was unclear if the attack in a country where such political violence is virtually unknown would affect the election outcome. Analysts said most voters had already made their choice based on policy and were unlikely to be swayed by emotion now.
Chen's chief of staff, Chiou I-jen, told a news conference that the president had called for calm.
Both the DPP and the opposition Nationalists called off campaigning after the shooting. Continued ...
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