Taiwanese legislature picks populist China-leaning speaker

TAIPEI -- A populist former presidential candidate who was recalled as a city mayor has been elected speaker of Taiwan's legislature, raising the specter of bitter infighting over reforms and defense spending to counter an increasingly aggressive China.

Han Kuo-yu -- who made headlines for striking lawmaker Chen Shui-bian, who later became president, during a legislative session in 1993 -- took the politically powerful job after winning votes from 54 newly elected members of the main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT).