Word: chen
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...Chen, 52, is taking the biggest gamble of his political career and, in the process, whipping up an international storm. At issue is his surprise announcement on Nov. 29 that he intended to use powers afforded him under a new referendum law to hold a popular vote to "protect our country's sovereignty." Many interpreted that to mean Chen was flirting with the idea of a referendum on independence?an action that China has consistently threatened would lead...
...addition to enraging Beijing, Chen has also created an ill-timed headache for Taiwan's biggest ally: the U.S., which is obligated under its Taiwan Relations Act to come to the island's defense in case of an attack. But Washington is preoccupied with Iraq and Afghanistan; it also needs Beijing's cooperation on everything from prosecuting the war on terror to containing North Korea to cutting its trade surplus with...
...pressure Chen to step back, Washington last week dispatched its top National Security Council official for Asia, James Moriarty, to Taipei to ask Chen to cool it over the sovereignty issue and, according to a senior official in Chen's administration, "urge us not to miss the sense of urgency" in Beijing's reaction. "The U.S. conveyed a message to us that had come directly from China," says the official. The warning worked?to a degree. Chen reiterated a commitment made at his inauguration in 2000 to not change Taiwan's status and vowed that any referendum would not touch...
...Chen might never have won the presidency in 2000 if China had not branded him a "dangerous separatist" whose election would bring war to the Taiwan Strait. Taiwanese, tired of China's bellicose rhetoric, rallied around him. But this time, until the referendum issue erupted, Beijing had deliberately held its fire. That, coupled with a steady drop in Chen's popularity over the years, apparently forced the President to seek a fresh squabble with China. "China is a useful enemy for Chen," says Su Chi, a senior policy adviser to the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party. "It's a scarecrow...
...Replaying the China card may not be enough to get Chen elected again, however. In 2000, the opposition was divided. For the coming election, the KMT and the other major opposition group, the People First Party, are fielding a joint candidate, KMT chairman Lien Chan, so as not to split the vote. The opposition has attacked Chen's administrative performance, blaming frequent policy flip-flops in the past few years for having aggravated Taiwan's poor economy. Still, by harping on the referendum issue, Chen has managed to achieve two key election objectives: telegraphing to his hard-core supporters...