China and Taiwan: Cross-Strait Relations Under Chen Shui-bian

4. Taiwan Under President Chen Shui-bian

40 China and Taiwan: Cross-Strait Relations Under Chen Shui-bian© 2002 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore 4 Taiwan Under President Chen Shui-bian Taiwan’s 2000 Presidential Election Taiwan’s presidential election, held on 18 March 2000, saw the defeat of the Kuomintang (KMT) government, for the first time after fifty-five years in power, by the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The election race drew a field of five: the KMT’s Lien Chan, the then Vice-President, and Siew Wan-chang, the then Premier; the DPP’s Chen Shui-bian and Lu Hsiu-lien; independent candidates Soong Chu-yu and Chang Chao-hsiung; the New Party’s Li Ao and Feng Hu-hsiang; and independent candidates Hsu Hsin-liang and Chu Hui-liang. Though not as dominant as it was in the 1996 presidential election, the issue of cross-strait policy still remained a very significant one in the election. Its debate attracted particular attention after President Lee Teng-hui announced his “two states” theory in July 1999. On Unification/Independence The three front-runners in the election (Lien, Soong, and Chen) had deemphasized the unification/independence issue, as many voters were afraid of military conflict with China. Though once a vocal advocate of Taiwan’s independence, Chen Shui-bian was far less fervent in public about independence. He vowed that he would not declare Taiwan’s independence (unless Beijing moved to retake Taiwan by force) and abandon the title of the Republic of China (ROC). Nevertheless, his “Long Live Taiwan Independence!” cheer during the campaign made people suspect that his new stance was merely for political Reproduced from China and Taiwan: Cross-Strait Relations Under Chen Shui-bian by Sheng Lijun (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2002). This version was obtained electronically direct from the publisher on condition that copyright is not infringed. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies 41 Taiwan Under President Chen Shui-bian© 2002 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore expedience. His remarks often appeared ambiguous, evasive, and selfcontradictory . While vowing not to promote a referendum on Taiwan’s independence, he also supported the concept of having the Taiwan people determine their own destiny. While on one occasion he promised not to write Lee’s “two states” theory into the Constitution, on other occasions he advocated amending the Constitution to give legal effect to the theory. He also did not make clear any commitment to change the pro-independence clause in his Party Charter. Soong stated that Taiwan, with security and dignity, should seek to find a mutually beneficial model for integrating with mainland China. He suggested that the two sides sign a thirty-year non-aggression agreement in the presence of international witnesses. After this, they could come together, following the European Union model, for another twenty years. Finally, a referendum should be held to decide which direction cross-strait relations should take. On the “Two States” Theory and Taiwan’s Identity None of the three leading candidates mentioned the “one China” principle. They did not accept China’s “one country, two systems” formula for reunification. They agreed that the ROC was an independent sovereign state and upheld, in one way or another, Lee’s “two states” theory. Lien said that the theory was an accurate description of the status quo. As for Soong, although criticizing the theory for having unnecessarily led to a deterioration of cross-strait relations and damaging the trust between Taiwan and the United States, he nevertheless defined cross-strait ties as “quasi-international relations of corresponding sovereignty”, or, in another English version, as “mutual non-jurisdiction and independent sovereignty”. Chen claimed to be the only real defender of Lee’s “two states” theory, and challenged both Soong and Lien to mention the theory to Chinese President Jiang Zemin. He even re-worded the theory as “special relations between two separate states”.1 On the “Three Links” with China In order to win more votes, all the candidates criticized Lee’s “go slow and be patient” policy and promoted the earlier “three links”2 concept to assure Taiwan’s security. Soong said that the ban on the “three links” with China had weakened Taiwan’s potential advantage as an Asia-Pacific regional operations centre, and he vowed to lift it. He...