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Chen Shui-bian stumps for legislators in Tainan

Revisiting the scene of the assassination attempt made on his life and that of Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) on the eve of the presidential election in 2004, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) campaigned yesterday in Tainan City, completing a mission he was unable to finish four years ago.

At 1:45pm on March 19, 2004, bullets grazed Chen's stomach and hit Lu's knee when the pair, standing side by side in the back of an an open-top off-road vehicle, were campaigning near the intersection of Wenhsien Road and Chinhua Road.

All campaign rallies on that evening were canceled following the shooting incident.

Wearing a bullet-proof vest and surrounded by bodyguards, Chen yesterday waved to supporters who came out to greet his cavalcade as it traveled along Chinhua Road in downtown Tainan City.

Chen returned to his home turf to campaign for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative candidates William Lai (賴清德) and Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃).

Flashing the "V" for victory sign, the president chanted "A-bian, jiayou" (加油, an expression of encouragement) and "DPP, donsuan (凍算, "getting elected").

While the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said the president's visit to Tainan was a "dirty trick," the DPP said the event was intended to "restore the truth."

Chen Shui-bian and Lu defeated then KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and People First Party chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) in the March 20, 2004, election by a margin of less than 30,000 votes.

Some individuals in the pan-blue camp have argued that the assassination attempt was staged by the DPP to win sympathy votes.

Chen Shui-bian has said that that he and Lu were leading by 2.1 points in a poll conducted a day before the election.

He has also argued that he and Lu would have garnered more support from the election-eve rally had it not been canceled.

Also See: Chen dismisses polls showing the DPP lagging behind
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