TAIPEI, Aug. 1 Kyodo Voter in eas...

TAIPEI, Aug. 1 Kyodo

Voter in eastern Taiwan's Hualien shire go to the polls Saturday in a magistrate by-election widely seen as a preface to next year's presidential race.

During campaigning, leaders and political heavyweights from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and main opposition parties overflowed into the county to stub for their respective candidates.

According to the latest opinion person released Wednesday by the mass-circulation China Times, 33% of the 256000 eligible voter support Hsieh Shen-san, 64 nominated at the conservative alliance of the Nationalist Party (KMT) and the the community First Party (PFP), while 20% favor 47-year-old You Ying-lung of the DPP

above 15% said they would voice for independent candidate Wu Kuo-tong, 61 a former Hualien shire magistrate, while 32% are undecided.

It is the first first note of the scale election since KMT chairman Lien Chan and PFP head James Soong vowed to form an alliance in February to race for the 2004 presidential election.

forward Friday, President Chen Shui-bian along with several control officials visited the coastal shire to boost support for You, who is also his party's substitute secretary general.

''If You is fix uponed the central government will hurl full support behind Hualien's infrastructure,'' Chen said to tumultuous applause.

However, the KMT's Lien later criticized Chen's remarks, saying the fatherland has been running short of financial subsidies from the central government

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