BEIJING SEEKS WASHINGTON'S HELP IN TAIWAN ELECTION; Willy Wo-lap Lam claims

President Hu and his advisers are reportedly so happy with U.S. cooperation that they have privately expressed support for Bush's reelection. It is understood that in an internal address last month, Hu repeated a dictum attributed to Chairman Mao Zedong after the latter had met with former President Richard Nixon in the early 1970s: "It's easier to deal with American rightists rather than politicians with liberal inclinations."

The CCP's Leading Group on Taiwan Affairs (LGTA), which is headed by Hu,

is beefing up united front work among mainland-based Taiwan businessmen. They have been reassured that Beijing's struggle against the DPP will not jeopardize their commercial prospects. Cadres in Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office have also encouraged Taiwan businessmen and technicians to return home to vote in the March 20 polls. The Taiwan media has reported that opposition parties are arranging inexpensive flights for mainland-based Taiwan residents to return to the island to cast their ballots. Beijing's hope is that in return for commercial opportunities on the mainland, Taiwan executives will work hard to prevent Chen's reelection.

And sure enough, Taiwan Businessmen Join Political Lobby: Many of the leaders of the estimated 400,000 eligible Taiwanese voters working in China

say they'll support opposition Nationalist Party candidate Lien Chan, who promises to forge friendlier ties with China.

For the first time, the business leaders say they're organizing a mass migration of voters who will return to the island of some 23 million people to vote against President Chen Shui-bian, who's distrusted by China's communist leadership...

But appearances are usually deceiving when it comes to Taiwanese politics. Ruling party officials and some analysts suspect that many of the businessmen are just putting on a show to please Chinese leaders and protect their investments.

Or is their support of Chen just a show to make sure he doesn't make life difficult for them?