KMT honorary chairman's son shot in election rally

Sean Lien was in stable condition after he was shot in the face Friday night when participating in an election campaign rally in Taipei County, said the local hospital where Sean Lien was treated Saturday.

The doctors in the Taiwan University Hospital said Sean Lien's surgery lasted about three and a half hours and was successful. He was in stable condition at present, and his wounds in the face were cleared and stitched up.

Sean Lien (Lien Sheng-wen), 40 yers old, is son of Kuomintang (KMT) party's honorary chairman Lien Chan. He was speaking on behalf of a candidate for city councilor in Xinbei, a ring of suburbs around Taipei.

The shooting occurred at around 8:20 p.m., and a 29-year-old local resident died on the spot after being hit by a stray bullet. Sean Lien was shot in the head and critically wounded while speaking Friday at a campaign rally in suburban Taipei.

People cast the ballot at a polling station in Taipei, Nov 27, 2010.

Friday's shooting revived painful memories of another election-eve shooting in 2004, when former Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian and his deputy Annette Lu were shot while campaigning for re-election in southern Taiwan. Critics alleged that shooting was staged to win sympathy for Chen, who eventually won by a razor-thin margin.

The incident became the frontpage stories in all major newspapers in Taiwan Saturday. And people from various circles in the island have expressed condemnation on this violent attack.

Doctors said they found wounds in his left cheek and the place near the right temple and he suffered from fractures in the cheek bone because of heat from the explosion of the bullet.

Voters could cast their ballots in 8,355 polling stations between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday. The results are expected to be unveiled Saturday night. The competition between the ruling KMT and the major opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the mayoral elections had been fierce with each party sending a candidate to run for the mayorship in each region.

Altogether 646 candidates are running for 314 seats in the city councils in the five regions, with a population of 13.8 million in total, accounting for about 60 percent of Taiwan's population.

Police officials secure the hospital where Sean Lien was being treated.

Police officials inspect the scene where Sean Lien was shot.

Police officials inspect the scene where Sean Lien was shot.

Ma Ying-jeou: We will not tolerate violence

Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou rushed to Taipei's National Taiwan University Hospital, where Lien was being treated. "Taiwan is a democracy," Ma told reporters there, after confirming that Lien's life was not in danger. "We will not tolerate such violence."

Ting Yuan-chao, director of Lien Chan's office, hoped such violence would not happen again and the society would be peaceful.

Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou speaks to the media about Lien Sheng-wen after voting in Taipei Nov 27, 2010. [Photo/Agencies]

Lien Chan (C) walks out from a hospital after visiting his son, Sean Lien, who was shot in the side of his face while speaking at a campaign rally on the eve of local elections in Taipei Nov 26, 2010. [Photo/Agencies]

The station said he had the nickname "horse face" - a sobriquet that would likely indicate his membership in one of Taiwan's criminal gangs.

A police official from Yung Ho, the area of Xinbei where the incident occurred, said the assailant had 48 bullets in his possession when he was taken into custody.

He said that man, surnamed Lin, ran onto the stage at the elementary school where Lien was speaking and opened fire, wounding him in the face, and hitting another man.