After top court rules, world watches for winner of U.S. election

Wednesday, December 13th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TOKYO (AP) _ In Japan, state-run television interrupted its programming Wednesday to announce the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the American presidential election. But for many people on the streets of Tokyo, the question remained: Does anybody know who won yet?

``At first, the election was exciting and we followed it closely. But after going on so long, it's become anticlimactic,'' Mieko Yoshida, a 51-year-old housewife, said near the Mitsukoshi department store.

``First it seemed to be Bush, then Gore, now Bush. It's gotten out of control. If the Supreme Court has decided, does that mean it's coming to an end now?'' said another shopper, Satoru Higashino, 34. ``If so, I suppose that would be a good thing, but their policies are so similar I don't even know which one would be better for Japan.''

Across the Asia-Pacific, the U.S. election drama has produced many front-page stories and headlines, and endless jokes at dinner tables and over the Internet about the U.S. election system and America's vaunted style of democracy.

One Japanese-language newspaper, the Mainichi, even used the drama to teach its readers about the old English-language phrase, ``It ain't over until the fat lady sings.''

On Tuesday night, a divided U.S. Supreme Court reversed a state court decision for recounts in Florida's contested election. That effectively put Texas Gov. George W. Bush on track to become the nation's 43rd president and caused Al Gore to wrestle with the withdrawal some Democrats are urging him to make five weeks after the election.

In Taiwan, afternoon papers carried headlines including ``Vote recount unnecessary, Bush win assured'' and ``A Bush victory is in sight.''

Nevertheless, many people in Asia seemed to have lost interest in what seemed like an endless saga.

``I'm really fed up with the election news broadcast on TV and radio over here,'' said Chan Ting-wen, a 60-year-old food company worker in Hong Kong. ``It's so unpredictable, like the weather. Sometimes they say Gore won. Sometimes they say Bush won the election. The news becomes extremely boring and annoying. Gore should give up.''

In Thailand, some expressed concern about the effect the election delay will have on the U.S. economy, now that its phenomenal growth is slowing.

``Questions about the ability of and confidence in the U.S. government have an impact on the international community and the world economy,'' Sopon Ongkara, columnist for the English-language daily The Nation and a news editor for Nation TV, said in an interview.

In Cambodia, opposition leader Sam Rainsy took the unusual step of writing a letter to Bush and referring to him as the new U.S. president.

Believing that a Bush administration would provide more assistance to pro-democracy advocates in Cambodia than the Clinton administration has, Sam Rainsy urged Bush to ``strive even harder'' to assist those fighting the authoritarian regimes in Cambodia.

In Malaysia, some people urged Gore to give up.

``Bush won. Let it be,'' said Raymond Ng, 24, a marketing assistant and engineer in Kuala Lumpur, the capital. ``Why is it that Al Gore cannot accept that?''

For Zeeshan Ahmed, a high school student in Pakistan, a country ruled by a military government, the presidential election showed the strengths and weaknesses of U.S. democracy.

``It seems very funny that the world's only superpower is such a mess,'' he said in Islamabad, the capital. ``But I am very impressed by the tolerance and patience of the Americans. They are not fighting. There is no violence. It is a good lesson for our politicians.''