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Taiwan's new president pledges not to push for independenceTAIPEI, Taiwan (CNN) -- 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. The new president and his vice-president, Annette Lu, took their oaths of office in a formal ceremony in the Presidential Palace in downtown Taipei. Chen said during his inagural speech that as long as China refrained from using military means to take control of Taiwan, he would not push for further independence from Beijing. Chen's inauguration ended more than 50 years of Nationalist Party rule on Taiwan and marks the first time an opposition leader has taken power democratically in a Chinese state. His inaugural address will be scrutinized around the region and in communist-ruled China, which still considers Taiwan a renegade province. Chen already has indicated he doesn't intend to provoke Beijing, but Taiwan's military was on heightened alert for the inauguration. China has threatened war if Taipei moves toward declaring itself an independent state. For Chen, the challenge is to balance domestic pressures -- and his own long-standing support for an independent Taiwan -- with China's demands. The 49-year-old Chen was a popular opposition leader during the years when the Nationalists ruled by decree. He served as a defense lawyer for political dissidents and spent time in prison himself during the period of martial law. He was elected in March, ending a 50-year grip on power by Lee Teng-hui's ruling Nationalist Party -- the remnants of China's pre-communist government, which fled to Taiwan after its 1949 defeat in China's civil war.
As a once-outspoken advocate of Taiwan's independence, his comments will be watched closely by officials in Beijing. He has so far refused to accept Beijing's demand that he embrace the "One-China principle," which would mean he saw Taiwan as an inseparable part of China. "The way he will balance these pressures is making things very ambiguous," said Tim Ting, a pollster for Gallup Taiwan. "He will refer to Taiwan, the Republic of China, one China as an issue to discuss. He will be jumping around."
No sudden moves expected from BeijingIt's far from clear whether anything he said will blunt Beijing's determination to resolve Taiwan question on its own terms. State-controlled Chinese media is warning Taiwan's new leader not to stray far from their wishes in his inaugural address. But few expect China to turn its threats into action just yet. Chinese policy-makers privately admit that unless they want a costly war, they have no other option than to give Chen more time to adopt a definition of Taiwan's status that Beijing finds acceptable. And while there is talk of a deadline among the leadership in Beijing, the talk is not of months, but years. "Most Chinese leaders are not naive. Their hopes for his speech aren't too high," said Chu Shulong, of the China Institute for Contemporary International Relations. "But the mainstream government attitude is that Chen's position has been quite moderate both during and after his election. And Chen's stand on independence was not the only reason he was elected: His criticism of the Nationalists over allegations of corruption and a split in the ruling party also contributed to his Democratic Progressive Party's victory. "Many Taiwanese who supported Chen Shui-bian don't necessarily support independence," Taiwan businessman Wang Yung-chiao said. "They supported him for other reasons, like his stand against corruption. "So the Chinese government shouldn't mistakenly think Taiwan is headed for independence. We know that would start a war, which is the last thing we want." "So as long as he doesn't say anything too provocative, Beijing's wait-and-see policy is likely to continue," Chu said. And Chen's stand on independence was not the only reason he was elected: His criticism of the Nationalists over allegations of corruption and a split in the ruling party also contributed to his Democratic Progressive Party's victory. "Many Taiwanese who supported Chen Shui-bian don't necessarily support independence," Taiwan businessman Wang Yung-chiao said. "They supported him for other reasons, like his stand against corruption. "So the Chinese government shouldn't mistakenly think Taiwan is headed for independence. We know that would start a war, which is the last thing we want." Hong Kong Bureau Chief Mike Chinoy and Beijing Bureau Chief Rebecca MacKinnon contributed to this report.
RELATED STORIES: Taiwan's new president takes office under Beijing's scrutiny RELATED SITES: Chen Shui-bian's campaign homepage (in Chinese) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hong Kong Bureau Chief Mike Chinoy examines the Taiwanese feeling of independence from China as a new president is inaugurated.
