ABSTRACT

Cross-strait relations entered a new stage in the second year of President Chen Shui-bian’s administration, and they were different from those of Chen’s first year in many ways. On the one hand, civilian economic and cultural exchanges grew at a double-digit pace. On the other, governmental relations deteriorated from the self-restraint of the first year to an adversarial stance with more and more friction and confrontation, culminating on 3 August 2002 with Chen’s announcement of “One country on each side (of the Taiwan Strait)” and “there is an urgent need for a referendum”. The new transformation in cross-strait relations, it seems, can be attributed more to Taiwan than to the mainland. When he made public his “one country on each side” and “urgent need for a referendum” announcement, two of the Five Nos that he spoke about on assuming office were tossed out of the window.