Taiwanese also voted separately on a referendum asking if Taiwan should beef up defenses if China refuses to withdraw missiles targeting the territory and whether to seek peace talks with Beijing.

Fireworks boomed in the night sky. Lawmaker Hsiao Bi-khim of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party told supporters at Chen's headquarters, "We've proved to the world that we've won. Today's victory is a victory for democracy and a victory for Asia."

Chen, 53, squeaked by with about 50,000 more votes than Nationalist Party leader Lien Chan after a hard-fought, cliffhanger campaign, according to unofficial results reported by TVBS cable news. A total of about 13 million ballots were cast, the station said.

Lien didn't immediately concede defeat, but people were crying at his campaign headquarters. Campaign workers shook their heads in dismay as the last vote counts popped up on TV screens.

Official results were expected later Saturday. There were 16.5 million eligible voters.

On the eve of the vote, gunfire hit Chen in the abdomen and Vice President Annette Lu in the knee as they rode through the southern town of Tainan on Friday, waving to supporters from an open-top Jeep.

Neither leader was seriously wounded, and some Nationalist Party members said the shooting helped Chen win crucial pity votes in the tight race.

"A bullet was fired at President Chen, but it ended up hurting us," said Jason Hu, mayor of Taichung, Taiwan's third-largest city.

But Joseph Wu, a senior Presidential Office official, said that "there were no sympathy votes." Wu said his party's internal polls showed Chen leading by 2 percentage points before the shots were fired.

The shooting was being treated as a criminal case - not a conspiracy or an attack that involved China, prosecutor Wang Sen-jung said Saturday. No suspects have been identified.

Even before the shooting, the election was unprecedented because it involved the first islandwide referendum. Results weren't ready for that vote, which focused on rival China's missile threat and pursuing talks with Beijing. The two sides split amid civil war in 1949.

The referendum revved up Chen's supporters, and gave the race - which might have been a dull rematch of the 2000 vote - an exciting twist. Chen's party has long wanted to hold such a referendum.

It would have been hard to find candidates that were more different that Lien and Chen.

Chen grew up in a poor village and graduated from Taiwan's top law school. He got into politics by defending dissidents during the martial law era, which ended in 1987. He has been a legislator and Taipei mayor.

Lien, 67, belongs to one of Taiwan's richest families. The former political science professor served as an ambassador, foreign minister, premier and vice president in the former Nationalist government.

Earlier Saturday, Chen slowly strolled into a voting station in the capital, Taipei, surrounded by bodyguards armed with submachine guns. He walked stiffly, looking wan and serious. He smiled slightly as he dropped his ballot in the box and told reporters that gunshots would never derail Taiwan's democracy.

"It doesn't matter where the bullet came from, A-bian won't be struck down," Chen said, referring to himself by his nickname. "And even if I were struck down, this could not strike down the aspirations of Taiwan's 23 million people for democracy and liberty."

After he voted, Lien, an ex-vice president, urged voters not to be swayed by their emotions. "We must be brave and calm," he said as he cast his ballot.

Chinese leaders have denounced the referendum, which they fear is a rehearsal for a vote on Taiwanese independence. The two sides split when the communists took over the Chinese mainland in 1949. Beijing wants Taiwan to rejoin the mainland and has threatened to attack if Taiwan seeks a permanent split.

China broke its official silence early Saturday about the assassination attempt, saying only that the government was following developments. It failed to join other Asian governments in wishing Chen a quick recovery.

The noncommittal, two-sentence statement by Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office reflected a dilemma over how to respond without boosting the popularity of a Taiwanese leader that the communist mainland government reviles as a liar and traitor.

"We've taken note of the shooting at Chen Shui-bian and Annette Lu," said its statement, carried by the official Xinhua News Agency. "We'll continue to follow the developments."

At a junior high school in the capital, Taipei, Veronica Wu, a 35-year-old cook, said she voted for Chen but that the shootings didn't influence her vote. "This is my occasion to participate in history," she said, referring to the referendum.

Karen Wang, 25, a student, said the economy was much more important. "I want to work when I finish my studies, so I voted for the candidate who cares about the economy, Lien Chan."

The election has been an emotional race dominated by negative campaigning - even though Lien and Chen agree on China policy.