Taiwanese Election Row Grows

Taiwan's police chief offered to resign yesterday over the unsolved shooting of the president, Chen Shui-bian, which opposition politicians claim was staged to win votes in last month's election.

If it is accepted he would be the third senior official to stand down since the fiercely disputed presidential poll on March 20, which has been followed by fist fights in parliament, turmoil in the cabinet and up to 500,000 protesters on the streets.

Chang Si-liang said he had submitted his resignation to take responsibility for the investigation, which has failed to identify a suspect or any strong leads.

Police believe two gunmen were involved in the assassination attempt on the last day of the campaign. Mr Chen was slightly wounded when a bullet grazed his stomach. Another hit his vice-president, Annette Lu, on the knee.

Analysts believe the shooting swung the election for Mr Chen. The president, a pro-democracy activist who has pushed for Taiwanese independence from China, won by 30,000 votes, less than 0.2% of the electorate.

The opposition candidate, Lien Chan of the Kuomintang party, has refused to accept the result, suggesting the attack was faked.

The interior minister, Yu Cheng-hsien, and the national security director, Tsai Chao-ming, have also quit to take the blame for the lack of protection for the president.

But the opposition says it will continue to organise protests until there has been a recount and an independent investigation.