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First Lady: Support Taiwan's 'Impossible Dream'
(AP, Sep. 21, 2002) The world community should support Taiwan's "impossible dream" of regaining membership in the United Nations, the island's first lady said.

Economists Decry Chen's China Talk
(Taipei Times, July 24, 2001) A seminar at a KMT think tank panned the president's remarks about a cross-strait economic war but new economic statistics did not give cause for optimism. Chen made the controversial comments at the opening of the Economic Development Advisory Conference on Sunday, saying that even if China has overtaken Taiwan "by a few stages" in economic development, Taiwan "cannot evade fighting an economic war" with China.

Lee, Chen Appearances Hint at Political Alliance
(China Post, June 17, 2001) Former president Lee Teng-hui appeared at the inauguration of a pro-independence academic group close to Lee's successor Chen Shui-bian, calling for the formation of a "new Taiwan." Lee is believed to favor Chen, for his 50-year-old successor has inherited his approach to cross-strait relations and shares with him the passion for Taiwanese nationalism.

No Alliance with Lee Teng-hui: Chen
(United Daily News, June 15, 2001) President Chen Shui-bian asserted that speculation he is forming an alliance with former President Lee Teng-hui is untrue. No such thing as a "Chen-Lee alliance" or "Lee-Chen alliance" exists, he said, describing these terms as media creations. Chen also contended that speculation of a "two-way split" between himself and Lee Teng-hui on the one hand, and. Lien Chan and James Soong on the other, are an oversimplification, and are not good for the development of Taiwan's society.

Taiwan's Chen Says Latam Trip Raised Island's Profile
(Reuters, June 5, 2001) Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian said his trip to Latin America raised international profile for his isolated island in the face of rival China's ever-tightening diplomatic embargo. "With Communist China repeatedly squeezing the Republic of China's living space, the visit let the international community understand the historical significance of Taiwan's rotation of political parties and its democratic value," Chen said.

China Denounces Chen
(Taipei Times, May 31, 2001) Beijing again blamed the president for a lack of cross-strait progress, and warned Taipei not to be too complacent about moving toward unification. "The goodwill gestures expressed by the Taiwan leader are insincere and inadequate," Zhang Mingqing, spokesman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, told a news conference in Beijing yesterday. "They are intended to gloss over his pro-independence stand."

Taiwan President Goes to Latin America as China Woos Allies
(AFP, May 24, 2001) Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian on Wednesday flew to Latin America after his two-night transit in the United States, amid China's　intensified efforts to woo Taiwanese allies in the region. Chen flew to El Salvador to begin his five-leg Latin America tour, which will also to take him to Guatemala, Panama, Honduras and Paraguay.

Taiwan Leader Defies China in NY
(AP, May 23, 2001) Taiwan's president met with Mayor Rudolph Giuliani on Tuesday during a stopover in New York City -- a visit cleared by the Bush administration despite the opposition of mainland China.

China Blasts U.S. for Hosting Taiwan's Chen, Dalai
(Reuters, May 22, 2001) China accused the United States on Tuesday of ``rude interference'' in its domestic affairs by playing host to Beijing foes Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian and Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. "China has always opposed all forms of official contacts with Taiwan by countries with which we have diplomatic relations,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao said.

President, First Lady Arrive in New York
(Taiwan Headlines, May 22, 2001) President Chen Shui-bian arrived in New York Monday night, becoming the first ROC head of state to set foot in the city.  On his first evening in New York, Chen dined with 22 members of the U.S. Congress. He told them that he greatly appreciated being treated as a head of state, comparing the nature of his current visit to last year's low-profile stopover in Los Angeles.

Taiwan President Marks Year in Office
(Reuters, May 20, 2001) Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian avoided any celebration of his first year in office on Sunday, instead marked the day by picking up litter and helping out at a car-wash run by disabled people.

Chen Assertive in Interview with Japanese Daily
(Central News Agency, May 10, 2001) On the eve of his first anniversary in office, President Chen Shui-bian summarized the achievements of his first year as "consolidating democracy, stabilizing cross-strait relations, rooting out corruption and abuses, forging the future."

Report Criticizes Performance of New Government
(Taipei Times, Aug. 21, 2000) A DPP-allied group released a 25,000 Chinese character critique of the new government yesterday, severely criticizing the inability of President Chen Shui-bian's government to realize its campaign promises.

China Criticizes New Taiwan Leader
(AP, July 19, 2000) China on Wednesday directly criticized Taiwan's new leader for the first time since his election, saying it held him accountable for his party's continued advocacy of independence for the island.

Taiwan's Ruling Democratic Progressive Party Elects New Chairman
(AP, June 25, 2000) Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party elected as chairman Sunday the mayor of Taiwan's second-largest city and a former political rival of President Chen Shui-bian.

Taiwan Calls for More High-Level Official Exchanges with US
(AFP, June 15, 2000) Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian Thursday called for more high-level official exchanges with the United States. Chen said he felt "encouraged that President Bill Clinton sent his best friend and working partner -- Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater -- here after the new government of the Republic of China was inauguated."

Chen 'Ddissatisfied' with Lu's Remarks
(Taipei Times, June 11, 2000) During a speech at Friday's national conference on women's issues, Vice President Annette Lu said that President Chen Shui-bian was smart to choose her as his running mate, and that "he wants me to act as the `bad cop' in cross-strait issues."

Chen Says Taiwan and US Can Help Mainland
(Reuters, June 7, 2000) Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian said on Wednesday that the island's democratisation could help the mainland become a more responsible, rather than menacing neighbour, and he called on the United States to assist.

China Readies For Artillery Drill
(AP, May 24, 2000) Taiwan said Wednesday that China's military will hold live-fire artillery exercises this week near outlying Taiwanese islands. The drills will be routine and not threatening, officials said.

Beijing Softens Rhetoric On Taiwan
(Washington Post, May 23, 2000) After months of threats, China showed signs today of adopting a softer and more flexible approach to dealing with the new president of Taiwan in attempts to resolve a decades-old standoff over the island's status.

Taiwan Leader Suggests Direct Links to China
(Washington Post, May 22, 2000) Taiwan's new president, Chen Shui-bian, journeyed to this island just 1.2 miles from China today and announced he is willing to consider opening direct trade, transportation and postal links with the Communist government in Beijing.

Taiwan's Change of Power Is Met by a Moderate Response From Beijing
(New York Times, May 21, 2000) Only two hours after Taiwan's new president made his inaugural address, authorities in Beijing released a surprisingly temperate response, charging him with a lack of sincerity but not repeating the dire threats and invective of recent weeks.

China Disappointed by Taiwan Head
(Associated Press, May 20, 2000) Taiwan's new leader disappointed Chinese leaders and jittery investors Saturday with his first big speech - an inaugural address that gently rebuffed Beijing's demands that he agree that this island is part of China.

New Taiwan Leader Seeks 'Reconciliation' With China
(Washington Post, May 20, 2000) In a long-awaited inaugural speech, Chen Shui-bian, the 49-year-old former political dissident who has become Taiwan's 10th president, today offered an olive branch to China, saying he was willing to discuss the question of "one China" with Beijing.

Taiwan's New President Pledges Not to Push for Independence
(CNN, May 20, 2000) Chen Shui-bian, who was sworn in as Taiwan's president Saturday, continued to walk a line between asserting his country's separate identity and its historic ties with the Chinese mainland.

Elections Will Help Chart Course for Taiwan and Its President By Erik Eckholm
(New York Times, Sep. 3, 2001) Taiwan's embattled president, Chen Shui-bian, scored a rare coup last month when he supported relaxing certain restrictions on investment and trade with the mainland. Still, Mr. Chen's prospects for effectively governing this factionalized island or developing any consensus over policy toward Beijing remain murky.

Lee Loves Chen? By Tim McGirk
(TIME.com, July 16, 2001) Former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui's political reemergence and support for President Chen Shui-bian may force Taiwanese to choose between independence and economic prosperity. It's a combination of revenge and a profound sense of mission. As an old man's final testament, Lee wants to make things right for his loyalists and punish those who defied him.

Age of Bian-Lee Alliance Dawns By Lin Chieh-yu
(Taipei Times, June 17, 2001) The emerging partnership between former president Lee and President Chen has already changed the political landscape. Political observers also say that whether or not a Bian-Lee alliance can defeat the opposition alliance -- presently in a stronger position -- will only be known after the year-end legislative elections. But it is obviously Lee's powerful influence on Taiwanese politics that is leading toward such a confrontation.

Taiwan's Perilous Transition By Shelley Rigger
(Foreign Policy Research Institute, June 6, 2001) It seems little enough to boast of -- a transfer of power that was chaotic, although not violent; a relationship with China that has seen neither progress nor regress. The limited nature of Chen's achievements underscores the difficulty of his first year in office, but also serves as a reminder of something we ought to know by now: transitions from authoritarianism to democracy are often protracted, and are nearly always fraught with uncertainty and peril.

Chen's US Trip Proves Welcome Escape By Mure Dickie
(Financial Times, May 24, 2001) This week's whirlwind visit to New York by Chen Shui-bian, Taiwan's president, has been hailed as a breakthrough for the diplomatically isolated island. But for the novice head of state, it is also a welcome chance to escape the gloomy headlines that have dominated a hard, first year in office. A warm welcome from US politicians and the first New York stopover for a Taiwanese president in more than two decades has made Mr Chen's US trip an unqualified success - and a sharp contrast to his domestic difficulties.

One Year On: Just Getting Started
One Year On: Cross-Stairt Relations are as Chilly as Ever
One Year On: Military Quietly Putting Offshore Engagement Policy into Practice
(Taipei Times, May 20, 2001) Few expected the first transition of power in the nation's history to go easily, but the obstacles that have beset the Chen Shui-bian government have gone far beyond the worst nightmares of almost anyone in the ruling party. The coming elections offer a way out. President Chen's overtures have failed to move Beijing as it continues to refuse to engage in talks unless the DPP government accepts the 'one China' principle.

Chen's First Year Tarnished by 'Mediocrity' By Mike Chinoy
(CNN.com, May 19, 2001) A year later, for many in Taiwan, the promise of Chen's victory has turned to disillusionment. An economic slump, continuing tension with mainland China, and a series of policy flip-flops have led to a sharp drop in Chen's popularity. Trapped between hard-liners in his own party and an opposition determined to thwart his every move, Chen has also been powerless to halt a sharp decline in Taiwan's economy. The stock market has lost nearly fifty per cent of its value since Chen took office. Unemployment is at a twenty-year high.

Taiwan's Chen Shui-Bian: A President's Progress By Harvey Sicherman
(Foreign Policy Research Institute, May 11, 2001) After a very difficult first year, President Chen Shui-bian is poised to go beyond domestic paralysis and the international status quo. His immediate relations with Washington are good; he has accepted and understood that he needs a coalition with his political adversaries; and he has positioned himself on cross-strait policy to take the new middle course, reflecting an underlying consensus on the island. No one can say whether this is enough for Beijing to make Chen a negotiating partner. But surely the ball is now firmly lodged in the PRC court.

Taiwan Chief Fails to Loosen Old Guard's Grip on Power By Mark Landler
(New York Times, Mar. 5, 2001) A year ago this month, voters here made history by sweeping the Nationalist Party out of power for the first time in 55 years — or, at least, so they thought. After the most fleeting of honeymoons, President Chen Shui-bian and his supporters are finding how hard it is to govern a country that was run for decades as the wholly-owned subsidiary of a once-impregnable party. "I was very naïve," said Lee Yuen- tseh, a Nobel Prize-winning chemist and friend of Mr. Chen. "I thought that if you rotated power, you could solve the problem. But the new party has a lot to learn in running the country."

The Honeymoon Has Been Short for Taiwan's New President By Philip Bowring
(International Herald Tribune, Aug. 3, 2000) It has been a brief honeymoon for Taiwan's new president, Chen Shui-bian, now in his third month in office. He has handled Beijing adroitly but his administration remains bogged down at home - unable to push through promised domestic changes, hemmed in internationally and facing negative sentiment about the economy. The president's standing in the polls remains high, and the public will give him and his Democratic Progressive Party time to find their feet.

Trend Emerging on Chen's Statements
(Straits Times, June 21, 2000) Taiwanese leader seems to soft-pedal cross-strait ties in public, but pushes privately for changes needed to consolidate de facto independence. China has been quick to dismiss any thoughts Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian might have had that his proposal for a cross-strait summit and reaffirmation of the 1992 consensus on ""one China'' would appease Beijing. Speaking at a press conference held to mark his first month in office, Mr Chen said he was willing to discuss the issue of a ""future one China'' on the basis of all past agreements reached, including the 1992 consensus.

Taiwan's New President: One If and Five Nos By Harvey Sicherman
(Foreign Policy Research Institute, June 2, 2000) Invoking his responsibility for the "sovereignty, dignity, and security" of the Republic of China, Chen then clarifies the future through the "one if" and the "five nos." The one if: "the CCP regime has no intention to use military force against Taiwan." ...These "nos" comprise a repudiation of Lee Teng-hui's two- state approach and a promise to retain the status quo, which, in the Unification Guidelines, still declare Taiwan's objective to be unification, that is, One China. Yet, One China has now become a "question."

Chen's Quiet Plan Could Anger China By Richard Halloran
(Washington Times, June 2, 2000) President Chen Shui-bian is speaking softly toward China, but has embarked on a strategy to maintain his island's separation from the mainland that, if successful, still could provoke a Chinese attack. The main element of this strategy is a vigorous effort to enhance a sense of identity among the people of Taiwan, especially in revising education to emphasize Taiwan's history and culture.

Cautious Beijing Is Biding Its Time By Douglas H. Paal
(International Herald Tribune, May 24, 2000) Mistrust runs deep in China about the newly inaugurated president of Taiwan, Chen Shui-bian, because of his and his Democratic Progressive Party's long association with advocating independence for Taiwan. But Chinese leaders are acting cautiously while the issue of China's permanent normal trade relations with the United States remains unresolved in Congress. China's need to avoid provoking Congress into rejecting the trade bill has combined with a wait and see approach to Mr. Chen's settling in period to create a few months' breathing space in cross-Strait relations as the two sides test each other out.

Lee and the DPP: No Longer a Secret Love By Julian Kuo
(Taipei Times, May 24, 2000) Up until Lee Teng-hui stepped down, he often made straightforward remarks that generated a lot of surprises. Since the KMT's unprecedented election defeat, he has yet to carry out a critical self-examination, at least in public. On the other hand, he has reiterated that "the alien regime from the mainland can no longer be allowed to rule," and said that he had tried his best to pave the way for a "peaceful power transfer."

In Praise of Advancing the Cause of Peace By Tom Plate
(LA Times, May 24, 2000) It's a most improbable trio for peace, to be sure. Yet in the last week, three world leaders have responded in hopeful ways to their grave responsibilities to make the world, especially Asia, a safer place. The first two leaders represent democracies, but the third does not. Yet President Jiang Zemin appears to be trying to work with Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian and President Clinton for greater peace and stability. If this admittedly optimistic reading of their three diplomacies is correct, then world politics may be nearing a historic turning point.

Reality Check: Chen Shui-bian's Bottom Line By Greg May
(Nixon Center, May 23, 2000) In his inaugural speech Saturday, Taiwan's new president, Chen Shui-bian, showed that there is a limit to how far he will go to placate Beijing. For all his pragmatism, President Chen is still a bona fide Taiwanese nationalist. In subtle and not-so-subtle ways, he clearly established the fact that Taiwan is an independent, sovereign country and that Beijing's idea of "one China" is a non-starter for his government.

Taiwan's New Leader and Beijing Testing Each Other By Erik Eckholm
(New York Times, May 22, 2000) A day after Beijing hinted at new flexibility in dealing with Taiwan and its new president, it hastened to restate that its "one China" principle was an absolute precondition of strengthening ties. "Acceptance or rejection of the one-China principle is the touchstone to test whether one sincerely wants to improve cross-straits relations," said a commentary by the official New China News Agency, issued in response to the inaugural speech on Saturday by President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan.

Five No's Puts Ball in PRC Court
(Taipei Times, May 22, 2000) With President Chen Shui-bian's declaration of the conditional "five no's" policy toward mainland China during this inaugural address, Taiwan has freed itself from any possible blame for causing cross-strait tension, passing it instead to mainland China, local scholars said yesterday. "With the five no's manifesto, Chen has passed the ball to [mainland] China. [Mainland] China will have to take all the blame and consequences if it uses force against Taiwan."