President Chen Shui-bian discloses aspirations in address

This article was written by Shih Ying-ying and published by the Taiwan Journal on January 6, 2006. It reports that in his New Year's address, President Chen Shui-bian called on the Taiwanese people to continue to consolidate Taiwan's national identity. All political parties should "see beyond issues of ethnicity to work in the common interest so as to garner a consensus on national identity", the president said.

"The ultimate decision on Taiwan's future must and will be made by the 23 million people of Taiwan, of their own free will," the president stressed. He continued to say that his government would adhere to the principles of sovereignty, democracy, peace and parity, no matter how ties with China develop.

Most significantly, the president declared that his government would replace its original "proactive opening, effective management" policy on cross-strait trade and investment with a "proactive management, effective liberalization" one, in order to minimize the inherent risks of investment in China. "Whilst Taiwan would never close itself off to the world, we shall also not 'lock in' our economic lifeline and all our bargaining chips in China," the president explained.

More details about the president's New Year's address are provided in this article.