Editing Chen Shui-bian (section)

==Presidency, 2000–2008==

===First term===
{{See also|2000 Taiwanese presidential election}}
[[File:2000ROCPresident-original colors.svg|thumb|100px|Election results by county (Green: DPP, Orange: Soong-Chang)]]

In an election similar to Taipei's in 1994, Chen won the [[2000 ROC presidential election|2000 presidential election]] on 18 March 2000, with 39% of the vote as a result of a split of factions within the [[Kuomintang]], when [[James Soong]] ran for the presidency as an independent against the party nominee [[Lien Chan]].

Lacking a clear mandate and inheriting a bureaucracy largely loyal to the KMT, Chen tried to reach out to his opposition. He appointed the KMT conservative mainlander [[Tang Fei]], a former general and the incumbent defense minister, as his first [[Premier of the Republic of China|premier]]. Only about half of Chen's original cabinet were DPP members, as few DPP politicians had risen above the local level. Although a supporter of [[Taiwan independence]], Chen moderated his stance during his campaign and pledged the [[Four Noes and One Without]] in his inaugural address—that as long as the People's Republic of China has no intention to use military force against Taiwan, he would not declare independence nor change the national symbols of the Republic of China. He also promised to be, "president of all the people" and resigned his chairmanship from the DPP. His approval rating reached around 70%.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Moore |first1=Jonathan |last2=Roberts |first2=Dexter |title=Taipei's mayor: The man China fears |url=http://www.businessweek.com/1998/46/b3604055.htm |access-date=30 September 2014 |magazine=[[Bloomberg Businessweek]] |date=16 November 1998 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110121170446/http://www.businessweek.com/1998/46/b3604055.htm |archive-date=21 January 2011 }}</ref>

Chen's administration ran into many problems, and its policies were constantly blocked by the [[pan-Blue coalition]]-controlled legislature. The stock market lost over half its value within a year and unemployment reached 4.5% in part because of the Asian stock market crash. While Chen's detractors blamed Chen's poor leadership for the economic crisis, the administration blamed the legislature for blocking its relief efforts.

More troublesome for Chen was the political showdown over the construction of the [[Number Four Nuclear Power Facility]]. This multibillion-dollar project in [[Gongliao District]] was already one-third completed and favored by the pro-business KMT as a means of avoiding an energy shortage. However, the environmentalist DPP strongly objected to the expansion of nuclear power. Premier Tang had threatened to resign if the project were canceled, and Chen accepted his resignation on 3 October 2000, only four and a half months after both had taken office. Chen appointed his political ally [[Chang Chun-hsiung]] as Tang's replacement. On 27 October, Chang announced that the government would halt construction. But less than an hour earlier, Chen had met with Lien Chan to reconcile differences{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}}. Lien had asked Chen to leave the matter for the [[Legislative Yuan]] to decide and Chen seemed receptive to the suggestion. When Chang's announcement came out, Lien was furious and the KMT began an effort to recall the president. The [[Council of Grand Justices]] intervened and declared that it was the legislature and not the cabinet that had the power to decide on the issue. This was widely seen as the end of Chen's attempts to face the pan-Blue groups head on. By the end of his first year in office, Chen's approval ratings had dropped to 25%.{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}}

During the summer of 2001, Chen flew to Los Angeles, [[Houston]], and New York City, where he met with members of the U.S. Congress. The mayor of Houston presented Chen with a key to the city and gave him cowboy clothing. His trip to New York was a first for a head of state from Taiwan as there was unwritten agreement between the US and China that no head of state from Taiwan would be permitted to visit either New York or Washington, D.C.{{Citation needed|date=September 2012}}

After his first year in office, Chen moved away from sending conciliatory gestures. In the summer of 2002, Chen again became the chairman of the DPP. During his tenure, images of [[Chiang Kai-shek]] and [[Chiang Ching-kuo]] disappeared from public buildings. The word "TAIWAN" is now printed on new ROC passports. Also continuing a trend from the previous administration, the Education Ministry revised the school curriculum to be more Taiwan-centered. Government websites have also tended to promote the notion that China is synonymous with the PRC instead of the ROC as was mandated by the KMT. The "Free China Review" was renamed the [[Taiwan Review]] and Who's Who in the ROC was renamed Who's Who in Taiwan. In January 2003, a new Taiwan-Tibet Exchange Foundation was formed but the Cabinet-level [[Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission]] was not abolished. Though Chen has proposed talks with the PRC, relations remain deadlocked as Chen refused to pledge to the [[One-China policy]], as required by the PRC for talks to begin. Such a pledge seemed unlikely for Chen since there remained strong opposition within his own party. Despite these symbolic gestures, Chen moved away from "[[no haste, be patient]]" policy and opened the [[three mini links]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=T. Y. |title=Lifting the "No Haste, Be Patient" Policy: Implications for Cross-Strait Relations |journal=Cambridge Review of International Affairs |date=2002 |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=131–139 |doi=10.1080/09557570220126342|s2cid=144195919 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Noah J |title=China opens door to direct trade links with Taiwan |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-opens-door-to-direct-trade-links-with-taiwan-5367695.html |access-date=1 September 2018 |work=The Independent |date=29 December 2000 |archive-date=2 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902020333/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-opens-door-to-direct-trade-links-with-taiwan-5367695.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Pan |first1=Philip P. |last2=Culpan |first2=Tim |title=China, Taiwan Agree to Direct Flights |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12524-2005Jan15.html |access-date=1 September 2018 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=16 January 2005 |archive-date=28 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828191724/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12524-2005Jan15.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Taiwan stands up |url=https://www.economist.com/special/2000/03/23/taiwan-stands-up |access-date=1 September 2018 |newspaper=The Economist |date=23 March 2000 |archive-date=2 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902084210/https://www.economist.com/special/2000/03/23/taiwan-stands-up |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{POV|date=December 2020}}

====Re-election campaign====
{{See also|2004 Taiwanese presidential election|3-19 shooting incident}}
[[File:2004ROCPresident.svg|thumb|100px|Election results by county (Green: DPP, Blue: Lien-Soong)]]
In late 2003, he signed a controversial referendum bill, which he had supported but was heavily watered down by the [[pan-Blue coalition|pan-Blue]] majority legislature. One concession that the legislature made was to include a provision for an emergency defensive referendum and during the legislative debates it was widely believed that this clause would only be invoked if Taiwan was under imminent threat of attack from China as has been so often threatened. Within a day of the passage of the referendum bill, Chen stated his intention to invoke this provision, citing PRC's over 450 missiles aimed directly at the Taiwanese. Pan-Blue believed that his bill was only intended to benefit Chen in the coming election, as whether PRC removes the missiles would not be pressured or decided by referendum result.

[[Image:Presidential Building, Taiwan (0757).JPG|thumb|Images of Chiang Kai-shek were removed from public buildings. Chen's portrait was hung at a location in the presidential office that previously displayed a portrait of Chiang.]]

In October 2003, Chen flew to New York City for a second time. At the [[Waldorf-Astoria Hotel]], he was presented with the Human Rights Award by the [[International League of Human Rights]]. In the subsequent leg of the trip to Panama, he met with US Secretary of State [[Colin Powell]] and shook hands with him. This high-profile trip raised Chen's standing in opinion polls ahead of his opponent Lien Chan for the first time at 35%, according to Agence France-Presse.

His use of the referendum in combination with his talk of a new constitution lead many among his reunification critics to believe that he would attempt to achieve [[Taiwan independence]] in his second term by invoking a referendum to create a new constitution that would formally separate Taiwan from any interpretation of China. This caused the government of the United States to follow the lead of Chen's political critics and issue a rare rebuke of Chen's actions.

[[3-19 shooting incident|Chen was shot in the stomach]] while campaigning in the city of [[Tainan City|Tainan]] on Friday, 19 March 2004, the day before polls opened on Saturday. His vice-president [[Annette Lu]] was also reportedly shot in the leg in the same incident. The following day, Chen narrowly won the election with a margin of less than 30,000 votes out of 12.9&nbsp;million votes counted. Both of his referendum proposals were rejected due to insufficient turnout, in part by the pan-Blue boycott. Those that did vote for the referendum overwhelmingly favored it. Pan-Blue candidate [[Lien Chan]] refused to concede and sued both for a recount and for a nullification of the outcome while supporters held a week-long protest led by the pan-Blues front of the [[Presidential Building (Taiwan)|presidential office]] in Taipei. He also claimed that the shooting was staged by Chen to win sympathy votes.

Throughout the election, Chen planned to hold a referendum in 2006 on a new [[Constitution of the Republic of China|constitution]] to be enacted upon the accession of the 12th-term president in May 2008. After the election, he sought to reassure critics and moderate supporters that the new constitution would not address the issue of sovereignty, and that the current constitution was in need of comprehensive reform after more than a decade of patchwork revision.

===Second term===
On 20 May 2004, Chen was sworn in for his second term as president amid continued mass protests by the pan-blue alliance over the validity of his re-election. Having heard protests from pro-independence figures in Taiwan, he did not explicitly re-state the [[Four Noes and One Without]] but did state that he reaffirmed the commitments made in his first inaugural. He defended his proposals to change the constitution, but asked for constitutional reform to be undertaken through existing procedures instead of calling for a referendum for an entirely new constitution which was proposed by former president Lee Teng-hui. This would require approval by a three-fourths majority of the [[National Assembly of the Republic of China|National Assembly]] which could authorize a referendum. This has two major implications. First, by going through existing constitutional amendment procedures, this has the symbolic effect of maintaining continuity with the existing constitution which was originally written in China. Second, this has the practical effect of requiring the Chen administration to get the consent of the opposition [[pan-Blue coalition]] to pass any amendments, and while the opposition is willing to consider constitutional reforms that would increase governmental efficiency, they are unlikely to support anything that would imply a ''de jure'' declaration of independence.

However, even these seemingly conciliatory gestures did not quell unease by his critics at his election. Some have pointed out that he qualified his statements on the constitution with the statement that this is a personal suggestion. Furthermore, it is widely believed in Taiwan that some of these gestures were essentially forced on him again by pressure from the United States and the PRC. The PRC has stated many times that it cares little about what Chen says, but will watch closely in the next few months to see what he does, a standard sentence that Communist China continues to quote.

[[Image:2006TaiwanSportEliteAwards AbianChen.jpg|thumb|Chen Shui-bian addressed his opening speech at 2006 Taiwan Sports Elite Awards]]

Three days before Chen's inauguration, the [[Taiwan Affairs Office]] of the [[People's Republic of China|PRC]] issued what has become known as the [[May 17 Declaration]]. In that declaration, China accused Chen of continuing with a creep toward independence, having merely paid lip service to his commitments in his first term of office, and reiterated that there would be consequences if Chen did not halt policies toward [[Taiwan independence]], but at the same time offered major concessions if Chen would accept the [[One China Principle]].

In late 2004, in effort to maintain the [[balance of power in international relations|balance of power]] in the region, Chen began eagerly pushing for a US$18&nbsp;billion arms purchase from the United States, but the Pan-Blue Coalition repeatedly blocked the deal in the legislature. Criticism has been made of this, citing contradictory arguments used, such as that the weapons were not what Taiwan needed, or that the weapons were a good idea but too expensive. By late 2006, the KMT had signalled it would support some of the arms sale being approved, but failed to pass a revised arms bill by the end of the legislative session in early 2007, despite promises by then KMT chairman, [[Ma Ying-jeou]], to do that.

Chen announced on 5 December that state-owned or private enterprises and foreign offices bearing the name "China", such as [[China Airlines]], the [[China Steel Corporation]], and [[Chinese Petroleum Corporation]], would be renamed to bear the name "Taiwan." On 14 December 2004, following the failure of the [[Pan-Green coalition]] to gain a majority of seats in the [[2004 ROC legislative election]] (as many had expected to occur), Chen resigned as chairman of the DPP. This dashed hopes that the stalemate that plagued Chen's first term would end.

[[File:Pope johnpaul funeral politics.jpeg|thumb|left|At the funeral of Pope John Paul II, Chen (''far left''), whom the Holy See recognized as the head of state of China, was seated in the front row ([[List of dignitaries at the funeral of Pope John Paul II|in French alphabetical order]]) beside the first lady and president of Brazil.]]

In 2005 Chen became the first ROC president to visit Europe, when he attended the [[funeral of Pope John Paul II]] in the [[Vatican City]] (the [[Holy See]] continues to maintain diplomatic relations with the ROC). In order to shore up diplomatic support, it is common for the ROC president to visit the ROC's remaining diplomatic allies; however, past presidents had been prevented from visiting the Vatican because such a visit would require passage through Italy, which maintains relations with the PRC. Under agreement with the Vatican, Italy permitted all guests to the funeral passage without hindrance and Chen was received at the airport in his capacity as a foreign head of state. In this religious ceremony where U.S. president [[George W. Bush]] greeted Iranian president Khatami, Chen did not seem to attempt to a high profile of himself by reaching out to other heads of states such as Bush or British prime minister [[Tony Blair]]. Chen was named one of the [[Time 100|''Time'' 100]] for 2005.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/subscriber/2005/time100/leaders/100shui-bian.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061209012951/http://www.time.com/time/subscriber/2005/time100/leaders/100shui-bian.html |archive-date=9 December 2006 |title=The 2005 Time 100 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=7 January 2017}}</ref>

Later in the year, Chen traveled to Miami in stopover for a forum in the Caribbean. He met with members of the [[U.S. Congress]] through video conference and was invited to visit Washington, D.C. On his way back, he was originally scheduled to fly through San Francisco. However, he changed course and stopped-over at the United Arab Emirates. The head of state greeted him and hosted a formal state dinner, infuriating the Chinese officials. Chen made his way back after making a stopover at [[Jakarta]]. His request for a pitstop at Singapore was denied; authorities cited weather problems.

On [[228 Incident|28 February]] 2006, Chen announced that the [[National Unification Council]], which was set up in 1990 to create guidelines for unification with China if it adopted democracy, would "cease to function". He took care to use this phrase rather than "abolish" because he had promised during his 2000 campaign that he would not abolish the council or its guidelines.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Bradsher|first=Keith|date=28 February 2006|title=Taiwan's Leader Defies Beijing's Warnings|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/28/world/asia/taiwans-leader-defies-beijings-warnings.html|access-date=21 June 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=23 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623114832/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/28/world/asia/taiwans-leader-defies-beijings-warnings.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  Adam Ereli, deputy spokesman of the US State Department, issued a statement on 2 March 2006, that the understanding of the United States was that the difference between "abolish" and "ceasing activity" implied no change in the status quo.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ait.org.tw/en/news/officialtext/viewer.asp?ID=2006030302&GROUP=BG |title=AIT – Official Texts – OTI-0603E |access-date=6 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060422070523/http://www.ait.org.tw/en/news/officialtext/viewer.asp?ID=2006030302&GROUP=BG |archive-date=22 April 2006 }}</ref>

On 3 May 2006, Chen canceled plans to pass through the United States on his way to Latin America. He was hoping to stop by either San Francisco or New York City to refuel and stay overnight, but the US refused his request instead limiting him to a brief refuelling stopover in Anchorage, Alaska, where Chen would not be allowed to step off the plane. Chen and Taiwan saw this as a snub and led to Chen's cancellation. The trip to Latin America continued, however, without a US stopover. The US State Department claimed that the Alaska stopover offer was consistent with its previous accommodations. However, former Taiwan president [[Lee Teng-hui]] was granted a visit to [[Cornell University]] eleven years earlier. More recently, in addition, Taiwan's leaders have in general been granted permission to stopover in the United States for brief periods before continuing on to other countries. This recent American stance is interpreted by Taiwan to be an expression of the increasing irritation the United States feels towards Taiwan and Chen's seemingly pro-independence gestures. Chen attended the inauguration of [[Óscar Arias]], the president of [[Costa Rica]], one of the few countries that recognized the Republic of China at that time. [[Laura Bush]] was also present to represent U.S. president [[George W. Bush]]. Chen seized the opportunity, approached her and shook her hands, while Chen's aide produced a camera immediately for an impromptu [[photo-op]]. Chen's supporters saw this act as a step forward in Taiwan's struggle for diplomatic recognition, while his detractors claimed that it was a grave breach of international [[etiquette]] and put Taiwan to shame.
[[File:2007TaipeiInternationalFlowerExhibition ShuibianChen.jpg|thumb|Shui-bian Chen visited 2007 Taipei International Flower Exhibition.]]
On 12 May 2007, Premier [[Su Tseng-Chang]] resigned his position, and Chen soon appointed Chang Chun-hsiung to fill the vacant premiership. During Chen's tenure, beginning in 2000, the country has seen six different premiers in the past seven years. During the same period of time, from 2000 onward, the Democratic Progressive Party has also seen seven different chairmen.

Chen's tenure as president expired on 20 May 2008, yielding to successor Ma Ying-Jeou. From his election to his first term to his last days as president, Chen's approval ratings fell from 79% to just 21%.<ref>{{cite web |date=20 May 2008 |title= |script-title=zh:聯合報民調》扁八年 滿意度79%→21% |trans-title=United Daily News Poll: Chen Shui-bian's eight years, approval rating 79% → 21%. |url=http://udn.com/NEWS/NATIONAL/NATS4/4348497.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100411020418/http://udn.com/NEWS/NATIONAL/NATS4/4348497.shtml |archive-date=11 April 2010 |access-date=26 March 2009 |website=UDN |language=zh}}</ref>