COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, WORLD NEWS: Taiwan's president is stepping down as leader of his party. Lee Teng-hui is reacting to pressure within his own Kuomintang Party to resign as party chairman. We spoke a short time ago with CNN's Hong Kong bureau chief Mike Chinoy about this move.</s>MIKE CHINOY, CNN HONG KONG BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Lee Teng-hui said that he ultimately had to take responsibility for the Kuomintang's disastrous showing in last Saturday's presidential election. Following protests in the streets and pressure from within his party, he formally stepped down as chairman of the Kuomintang on Friday. He's being replaced by Lien Chan, the vice president who was the KMT's presidential candidate in the election. Lien is widely seen as a transitional figure.</s>MCEDWARDS: CNN's Mike Chinoy. The Kuomintang has ruled Taiwan since nationalist troops fled advancing Communist forces on the Mainland more than 50 years ago. END TO ORDER VIDEOTAPES AND TRANSCRIPTS OF CNN INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMING, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE THE SECURE ONLINE ORDER FROM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com Search CNN.com CNNSI.com CNNmoney.com The Web
Resignation of Taiwan's Lee Teng-hui