Vol. 1, No. 1, July 2002
	KMT consistently urging Beijing not to engage in dialog with DPP government on unification issue In March 2000, Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the presidential race and ousted the KMT from the presidency for the first time in history. Global economic decline, KMT dominance in parliament, and tensions between the nation-state of Taiwan and the People's Republic of China gave the opposition the opportunity to question the ability of the DPP to rule the nation. To make things worse for the DPP, the KMT has reportedly used its economic and political power to shed dark light on the DPP. Local media reports claimed that companies affiliated with the KMT had withdrawn capital and manipulated the stock market in order to discredit the DPP. Moreover, Bonnie S. Glaser, a consultant on Asian affairs, stated in an article for the Center for Strategic and International Studies that  the KMT had consistently urged Beijing not to engage in a dialogue with the new government in Taipei in an effort to weaken the position of the DPP and increase the chances of a KMT election victory in the December 2001 parliamentary election. Lin Fong-cheng, secretary general of the KMT, denied the accusations. Article by Bonnie Glaser Official KMT response Bonnie S. Glaser's response  2001 elections: a further setback for the KMT The December 2001 parliamentary election turned out to be a further severe setback for the KMT. For the first time in Taiwan’s history, the DPP polled more votes in a national election than the KMT. About 33 percent of the votes went to the DPP and 29 percent to the KMT.  Taiwan's 2001 elections by Christian Schafferer published by the Taiwan Research Unit at the Ruhr University Bochum (Germany) (Note: PDF format requires ACROBAT Reader.
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