Chen not optimistic about quick resumption in cross-strait talks

This article was from The Taiwan Journal and published by The Taiwan Headlines on July 15, 2003.

President Chen Shui-bian said recently that he is not optimistic about the possibility of resuming cross-strait dialogue before his first term ends next year. In an interview with the Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun on July 3, Chen restated the "five-nos" he laid out in his inaugural address, which included a promise that there would be no declaration of independence and no change in the nation's formal name of the Republic of China. Nothing has changed since then, said Chen, in response to concerns that recent talk of referendum legislation might lead to a plebiscite on the issue of unification versus Taiwan independence.