Taiwan's KMT declares victory in poll

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TAIPEI, Mar 22 (Reuters): Taiwan's opposition Nationalist Party's (KMT) presidential candidate, Ma Ying-jeou, has won more than half the vote in Saturday's election, the party said, auguring improved ties with diplomatic rival China.
Ma had won more than 7 million votes, the party said, more than half the total 13 million people who cast their ballot.
The Central Election Commission said that Ma had 58 percent of the vote, while the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's candidate Frank Hsieh had 42 percent, with counting still continuing.
Ma favours closer economic ties and political dialogue with China, which claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.
Voters had to choose a successor to President Chen Shui-bian, an anti-China firebrand who steps down in May and who has repeatedly angered Beijing with his pro-independence rhetoric.
China has claimed self-ruled Taiwan as its territory since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.
Hsieh's DPP favours formal independence while Ma's Nationalist Party (KMT) wants eventual reunification once China embraces democracy.
"Whether you vote for Hsieh or for Ma, be sure to vote for Taiwan," Chen told reporters. "...Don't let Taiwan become the next Hong Kong. Don't let Taiwan become the next Tibet."