Hsieh eyes Taiwanese presidency in 2008 - Yahoo! News

Hsieh eyes Taiwanese presidency in 2008 - Yahoo! News: "Hsieh eyes Taiwanese presidency in 2008" Mon May 7, 3:04 AM ET TAIPEI, Taiwan - A former Taiwanese premier who has pushed for better relations with rival China will head the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's ticket in 2008 elections, the party's presidential candidates said Monday. The announcement by Frank Hsieh's three rivals for the presidential nomination came a day after the former premier prevailed in an internal party primary. Hsieh's candidacy raises the prospects of a significant improvement in Taiwan's relations with China, from which it split amid civil war in 1949. Unlike President Chen Shui-bian, also of the Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, Hsieh has tried to trim expectations that Taiwan can ever formalize its de facto independence. Chang Wu-yueh of Taipei's Tamkang University said a Hsieh victory in the presidential election could compel Beijing to reassess its policies toward the DPP, which have been marked by unremitting hostility throughout Chen's seven years in office. "Hsieh has ... a softer posture and tends to avoid a direct, confrontational approach," Chang said. "He has advocated ... reconciliation."