Sean Lien, son of Kuomintang (KMT) party's honorary chairman Lien Chan, was now in stable condition after he was shot in the face Friday night when participating in an election campaign rally in Taipei County, said the local hospital where Sean Lien was treated Saturday.

Policemen keep guard at a hospital where Sean Lien receives medical treatments, in Taipei, southeast China's Taiwan, Nov. 26, 2010. Sean Lien, son of Lien Chan, honorary chairman of Kuomintang (KMT) party, was reportedly shot in the face when he was campaigning for a KMT candidate in Taipei County Friday evening. [He Junchang/Xinhua]

The doctors in the Taiwan University Hospital said Sean Lien's surgery lasted about three and a half hours and was successful. He was in stable condition at present, and his wounds in the face were cleared and stitched up.

Sean Lien was shot in the face Friday on the eve of the island's mayoral and city councilor elections when he was campaigning for a KMT candidate.

Doctors said they found wounds in his left cheek and the place near the right temple and he suffered from fractures in the cheek bone because of heat from the explosion of the bullet.

According to local police, the shooting occurred at around 8:20 p.m., and a 29-year-old local resident died on the spot after being hit by a stray bullet.

A suspect, who was found carrying a pistol and bullets, was detained Friday.

The incident became the frontpage stories in all major newspapers in Taiwan Saturday. And people from various circles in the island have expressed condemnation on this violent attack.

Local residents began to vote in the island's mayoral and city councilor elections on Saturday morning in Taiwan's five major regions including Taipei City, Taipei County, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung.

Voters could cast their ballots in 8,355 polling stations between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday. The results are expected to be unveiled Saturday night.

The competition between the ruling KMT and the major opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the mayoral elections had been fierce with each party sending a candidate to run for the mayorship in each region.

Altogether 646 candidates are running for 314 seats in the city councils in the five regions, with a population of 13.8 million in total, accounting for about 60 percent of Taiwan's population.