Taipei - Many people in Taiwan on Wednesday welcomed the detainment of former President Chen Shui-bian on graft charges, accusing him of being corrupt and greedy, but independence supporters warned of potentially violent repercussions.

After the Taipei District Court on Wednesday ordered Chen, 57, detained at the Taipei Penitentiary, some people set off firecrackers and popped champagne to celebrate.

An online poll by the United Daily News newspaper showed that 23,621 people, or 96 per cent of the respondents, thought detaining Chen was justice done while 833 called it political persecution and 28 said they had no opinion.

But supporters of Chen, who advocates Taiwan's independence, warned that their camp would rise up to protest Chen's detainment.

"Handcuffing Chen Shui-bian is like handcuffing the hearts of Taiwan's people," said Cheng Hsin-chu, owner of the pro-independence radio station Happy Radio in Kaohsiung.

He added in a reference to the 1947 uprising by Taiwanese against suppression by mainland Chinese troops: "There will be reaction and maybe even a repeat of the February 28, 1947, incident."

Analysts said Chen's detention showed Taiwan was maturing.

"This is the first time a former president of Taiwan has been arrested over graft allegations," political commentator Hu Chung-hsin said. "It shows our judicial system has improved and is moving towards independence."

Hu lamented Chen's fall from the top of the political ladder because Chen, in his earlier days, was so promising.

"He was the son of a farmer and was called 'The Son of Taiwan,' but a politician is judged by how he exits the political stage," Hu said.

The Broadcasting Corp of China, a Taiwan radio network, compared Chen to Roh Tae Woo, Suharto and Joseph Estrada, who faced corruption charges when they stepped down as the presidents of South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines, respectively.

Chen was expected to face trial before the end of the year on allegations that include embezzling government funds, laundering money, accepting bribes and committing fraud.

Each charge carries a minimum five-year jail term, and if convicted, Chen could be sent to prison for 30 years.

The rise to power of the politician and lawyer who had been born into a poor family outlined the development of Taiwan's pro-independence movement, which reached its peak when Chen and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) were elected to govern Taiwan in 2000. The vote ended five decades of rule by the Chinese Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang (KMT).

Despite a dazzling start, Chen's eight years in office were full of controversy as his advocacy of Taiwan's sovereignty strained Taipei-Beijing ties and Taiwan's economy deteriorated.

More controversial were allegations of corruption against him. He was accused of embezzling governments funds from secret diplomatic accounts that were to be used to expand Taiwan's international ties beyond its small circle of diplomatic allies while his wife, Wu Shu-chen, was charged with taking bribes and using receipts from personal spending to seek reimbursement from the state.

Faced with the allegations, Chen admitted on August 14 that his wife had wired some election campaign funds into foreign bank accounts without telling him, and resigned from the DPP as the party was about to expel him.

Then he went on the defensive, denying he had embezzled government money and accusing his successor, President Ma Ying-jeou from the China-friendly KMT, of persecuting him because Chen presented an obstacle to Ma's efforts to embrace China. Chen vowed to clear him name, fight for Taiwan's independence and run in the
2012 presidential elections.

Cheng Wen-lung, Chen's defence attorney, said the former president insisted he was innocent but did not appeal Wednesday's court decision because he believed it to be political persecution and he wanted to "carry the cross" for the Taiwan people.

Chen's rhetoric has won sympathy from many people in southern Taiwan, the base for the Taiwan independence movement and where Chen was born, while the DPP denounced Chen's arrest as political.

"When the judicial system is used for persecution, chaos will break out," DPP lawmaker Koh Chien-ming warned. "President Ma Ying-jeou must shoulder all consequences."

Analysts said Chen's detainment has further tarnished the DPP's image but could also spur the opposition party to cut off its ties with Chen and start anew.

"If the DPP cuts off Chen, who is like a poisonous tumor, it can reorganize itself to prepare for the 2009 local elections," said Shi Cheng-feng, a professor at Tamkang University. "If the DPP wins the local elections, there is still a chance that it could return to power in the 2012 presidential polls." (dpa)