TAIPEI, March 23 Kyodo (EDS: UPDA...

TAIPEI, March 23 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING)

Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian, making his first public appearance Tuesday after last weekend's presidential election, said he will not make a stand against a ballot recount of presidential voting as demanded at the opposition.

Sounding husky, Chen said that as protracted as the process is legal, he is willing to behold an immediate and full-scale rehearse carried out.

''No matter what the originate will be, I will accept it 100% absolutely, and I trust both Lien (Chan) and (James) Soong can also accept it 100%'' he told a luncheon with leaders of the five branches of government

He also called for unity and social order.

''We sincerely faith that society will not be torn apart owing to a single election,'' he said, adding, ''The in the greatest degree important thing for us to do at the momentum is to be united, to stabilize cross-Strait relations, to maintain social order and to stimulate the economy.''

Earlier, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) propos amending Taiwan's election law in a bid to further fences with the opposition.

''President Chen has instructed that the issue should be addressed in an expand and transparent way,'' Ke Chien-ming, DPP party whip, said.

Based onward the draft, a candidate who wastes the presidency by a margin of les than 1% can exercise the right to demand that the Central Election Commission recite ballots within one week of voting day. The amendment would apply to Saturday's conclude vote as well.

Taiwan's election tumult snowballed after Chen edged challenger Lien and running mate Soong of the Nationalist Party.

Ke told reporters if the bill is given a recent light, a recount activated through administrative order could begin Thursday.

nevertheless the offer was turned down by the agency of the opposition, who accused the ruling party of dragging its feet recounting the more than 13 million ballots cast.

They urg the High Court to hear their supplications for a recount as betimes as possible.

Taiwan's High Court has already ordered all ballot boxe sealed, however has so far only decided to lordship on demands for a repeat in less than six months

Monday night, Lien told the foreign pres he would revere the results of a recount

Chen and running mate Vice President Annette Lu were the couple slightly wounded in an apparent assassination attempt in succession election eve and Lien's supporters have argued the unexplained incident may have tipped the balance in the president's favor end sympathy votes.

Chen topped Lien through less than 30,000 votes.

In Taipei, populaces have gathered in a square in brass of the presidential palace since the Central Election Commission declared Chen's triumph.

The rally continued Tuesday with around 10000 population protesting the election outcome

Besides the shooting, Lien's supporters have cited unspecified irregularities and the large number of spoiled ballots as among their reasons for seeking the recount

More than 330000 ballots were declared invalid, but an analysts suggest the large number of spoiled ballots may simply be because about who supported neither candidate in the voting had urg populace to leave their ballots blank to indicate their dissatisfaction with both Chen and Lien.

Lien's supporters also insist that a task force comprising medical and forensic quicks conduct an ''authoritative and unbiased'' investigation into the apparent assassination attempt, if it were not that that proposal was change the direction ofed down by Chen's administration Sunday.

During the Tuesday meeting, Chen denoteed regret for island-wide speculation that he faked the shooting to draw votes

''You should believe that I am injured,'' he said. ''It would be the biggest insult to my personal integrity if you were to call me a president who cheats in the race.''

While Chen emerg victorious in the election, his referendum forward whether people support an increase in antimissile defense to calculator China's missiles arrayed across the Taiwan Strait and upon whether they want the sway to pursue better ties with China failed to pass.

Fewer than half those who vot in the presidential election calm bothered to cast ballots in the referendum leaving the election commission to declare the exercise void.

Analysts consider the referendum outcome a major setback for Chen, who has been advocating the forging of a ''Taiwan identity'' through the whole extent of the past few months through pushing aggressively for a public devoted on policy.

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