Taiwan?s main opposition party will steer the focus of their campaign against last month?s election result to the courtroom, taking a break from street protests after thousands of supporters clashed with police. But if President Chen Shui-bian drags his feet on a vote recount and continues to oppose an independent inquiry into a mysterious assassination attempt that they think swung the election, the Nationalists promise another show of people power.

?From now until May 20, we won?t hold any more protests,? said Nationalist spokesman Justin Chou on Sunday, referring to tbe inauguration date of the next president. ?But it?s only Chen Shui-bian who can solve all these problems.?

Thousands of demonstrators protesting the election results tried to storm Chen?s office on Saturday night, throwing at least one petrol bomb, tables, chairs and bottles at barbed-wire barriers protecting the building in the heart of Taipei.

Police in full riot gear, wielding wooden batons and shields, had to use water cannon to restore order in the third and worst Nationalist protest since the March 20 poll. Nearly 100 people were injured including 55 policemen. ?Whether we protest on May 19 depends on whether Chen Shui-bian makes concrete responses to our demands,? Chou said.

Demonstrations have become a weekly ritual in Taiwan since Chen defeated Nationalist leader Lien Chan by a paper-thin 0.2 margin. Lien promptly demanded the election be declared void and raised suspicions the attack was staged for sympathy votes.

Chen was gashed across the stomach and Vice President Annette Lu was wounded in the knee when an unknown assailant with a homemade handgun fired two bullets at them as they campaigned on March 19. Police have identified no suspects.

Citing voting irregularities, a large pile of spoiled ballots and puzzling circumstances surrounding the shooting, Lien has launched two lawsuits to nullify the election and Chen?s victory.

Judges and lawyers will meet on Monday to decide on the mechanics of a recount, which has the president?s consent. Analysts see a new election unlikely.

?What we are expecting is a real re-examination, not just a recount of the numbers,? said Lee Chung-teh, one of Lien?s lawyers. ?I think that should be the case if the court wants to find out the real truth.?

The Nationalists said they would also continue with plans to call a referendum on an independent inquiry into the shooting.

The Chen administration condemned the opposition for the riot, which erupted after Lien led 120,000 supporters in a rally demanding an independent inquiry into the shooting.

Premier Yu Shyi-kun said opposition leaders should resolve the election dispute through legal channels and said the clash was foreseeable ? and therefore preventable ? after increasingly violent protests in the last three weeks.

?They are playing with fire,? Yu told reporters. ?When you play with fire, sometimes you burn yourself. But when you hurt society, then the consequences are very serious.?

The Nationalists said they suspect troublemakers had infiltrated the crowd to start the chaos, pointing to the arrest of 13 rioters of whom six were found to have criminal records.

<B>Tiffany Wu</B>