president of Taiwan shot

Read about this in this mornings newspaper. The BBC has a good writeup on it. bq. Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian and Vice-President Annette Lu have been shot at a rally only hours before the country goes to the polls. It is not clear how many shots were fired in the southern city of Tainan but Mr Chen was hit in the stomach and Ms Lu in her right knee. bq. Both were treated in hospital and have since been released. bq. Officials said Mr Chen had urged people to stay calm and pledged that the elections would go ahead as planned. There is an intense struggle going on here. Taiwan is wanting to maintain its independence and China says that Taiwan is part of China and needs to return. The people who settled Taiwan were those mainland Chinese who fled the communists when they took over and plunged China into its economic and human-rights hell-hole for 50 years. Taiwan on the other hand, elevated itself into an economic powerhouse - it has the 27th largest GDP. In 2003, it had a total of $45 Billion trade with the US. The motherboard and most of the accessory cards in your computer probably came from there. The issue for independence is heating up - the Chinese have said that they will target 500 missiles if Taiwan chooses to declare independence. The Chinese also held Naval exercises (helped by our friends the French) just off the coast a few days ago. Hope that things work out for these people. Had the pleasure of visiting both countries and I really prefer Taiwan.