230;leading over a period of time to a final resolution." The March 2000 Taiwanese Presidential ElectionsThe run up to Presidential elections in Taiwan prompted particularly bellicose statements from Beijing aimed at the Taiwanese electorate, due primarily to Beijing's belief that the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), whose platform called for complete independence for Taiwan, was in a strong position to turn out the ruling Nationalist Party. Ironically, Beijing's dire warnings of a military response from the mainland, should the Taiwanese people vote for "pro-independence" parties, likely precipitated the DPP upset. It is important to note that the same strident admonishments, followed up by Chinese military maneuvers in the Straits of Taiwan, had no affect on the Taiwanese during the 1996 elections.March 18, 2000 saw the election of Chen Shui-bian, former Taipei mayor and long-time advocate of Taiwanese independence, to the office of President of Taiwan. With 39% of the vote, Mr. Chen upset the long-ruling Nationalist Party candidate, Lien Chan who garnered only 23% of the vote. Equally interesting in this contest was the strong performance of third-party candidate James Soong. A former Nationalist Party (KMT) member, Mr. Soong was banished from the KMT by former party chairman and current President Lee Teng-hui. During the election, Mr. Soong finished in a strong second place with 37% of the vote, a mere two percentage points behind Mr. Chen. Mr. Chen had recently softened traditional DPP rhetoric regarding Taiwanese independence, indicating that "no declaration of independence [was] needed because Taiwan [was] already sovereign." Indeed, in an effort to subdue Chinese reaction to the DPP victory, Mr. Chen pledged to seek deeper economic ties and a "permanent peace" between Taiwan and China.Additionally, Mr. Chen indicated that Taiwan would not declare independence or hold referenda on the issue unless Taiwa...
