Taiwan candidates head for finish line as presidential election looms

THAIWAN: Taiwan's rival presidential candidates scoured the island for support Friday, a day before elections that could give a hefty boost to the island's long-troubled relations with rival China.

Ma Ying-jeou of the opposition Nationalists and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's Frank Hsieh were capping their campaigns with a series of giant rallies around the island, in a last minute bid to win the backing of its 17 million voters.

Ma is considered to be the favorite, though Hsieh appears to have been closing a large gap over the past two weeks, and may now be in striking distance of an upset.

China, which offers a huge opportunity for Taiwan's powerful business community - and a looming threat to its evolving democracy - is by far the biggest issue. Taiwan and the mainland split amid civil war in 1949, and Beijing still considers the island to be part of its territory. It has threatened to attack if it rejects unification and seeks a permanent break.

Ma has based his campaign on promises to reverse the pro-independence direction of outgoing President Chen Shui-bian and leverage China's white-hot boom to re-energize Taiwan's ailing high-tech economy.

He has proposed a formal peace treaty with Beijing that would demilitarize the Taiwan Strait, the 160-kilometer- (100-mile-) wide waterway that separates the two heavily armed sides. But he too has drawn the line at unification, promising that it won't be discussed during his presidency.

Taipei, Friday, AP