A cheerteam of the ruling Nationalist Party practises for the upcoming presidential campaign rally in Taipei for Taiwan Vice President Lien Chan and the Premier Vincent Siew (R), whose images loom in the background January 7. Though Lien's ticket is backed by President Lee Teng-hui and Taiwan's powerful ruling Nationalist Party, he is dogged by a reputation for being stiff and colourless and has lagged in public opinion polls behind James Soong, who broke with the Nationalists to run as an independent, and Chen Shui-bian, candidate of the Democratic Progressive Party.

JKP/CC