Ma Ying-jeou pledges to be symbol of unity

At a campaign dinner in Tainan, Ma said he would never be a "source of disunity," referring to the allegation that he may divide the country because he is a mainlander.

Altogether 642 Ma fan club presidents took part in the party, in which they presented lists naming more than 16,000 supporters.

Ma promised that if elected, he will take good care of the people of Tainan, which is the heart of President Chen Shui-bian's power base.

The KMT candidate stumped the southern Taiwan county in his "Taiwan-move-ahead" campaign to rally support for his presidential bid.

In Taipei, Lien Chan, honorary KMT chairman, addressed a rally at the Presidential Plaza. He said the KMT is the cleanest party in Taiwan. "I wish," Lien said, "this cleanest party will come back in power."

Wu Po-hsiung, KMT chairman, also urged support for Ma. He warned against "dirty tricks," however.

"We have to be alert. Something untoward may occur," Wu said. He hinted at the mystery-shrouded shooting incident in Tainan on the eve of the 2004 presidential election.

President Chen, superficially wounded, was re-elected with a paper-thin margin of 0.2 percent, thanks to sympathy votes cast the following day.

In Kaohsiung, Vincent Siew, Ma's running mate, led the rally, while Wang Jin-pyng was back in the neighboring county of Kaohsiung to canvass votes for Ma.

Siew tried to sell his proposal to form a common market across the Taiwan Strait, which was condemned by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Mayor Jason Hu of Taichung led the march in the central Taiwan city, while P.K. Chiang, KMT deputy chairman, rallied support for Ma.

In Pingtung, KMT supporters crossed paths with their DPP opposite numbers, but there was no confrontation.

They also warned of "dirty tricks."

Demonstrators in Hualien chanted anti-corruption slogans. The KMT sponsored an anti-corruption referendum, which was held alongside the legislative elections in January.

More than half of the electorate stayed away from the polls to vote on the referendum, which was invalidated.

Over 20,000 supporters marched in the city of Hsinchu to call for Ma's election.

Larger crowds gathered in Panchiao and Hsintien to rally support for the KMT ticket in Taiwan's most populous county of Taipei.

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