One Step Forward, One Step Backward: Chen Shui-bian's mainland policy

TLDR: Chen Shui-bian has been lauded for his moderation in handling cross-Strait relations but reviled for his vacillation on the issue of "one China". He has been running the gamut from "future China" to the latest "accepting one China is equivalent to the end of the ROC" as mentioned in this paper.

Abstract: Chen Shui-bian has been lauded for his moderation in handling cross-Strait relations but reviled for his vacillation. The most evident case of Chen's unsteadiness is the President's position on the issue of 'one China'. He has been running the gamut from 'future China' to the latest 'accepting one China is equivalent to the end of the ROC'. This lack of consistency can be explained by factional politicking within the DPP. Since the DPP was created in 1986, it has been quite evident that the party has been polarized into two major factions, the Formosa faction and the New Tide faction. The radical wing got the upper-hand as the overseas independence advocates started to flow back at the beginning of the 1990s. A few years later, the party started to change on its stand on Taiwan independence. The humiliating defeat of the DPP candidate Peng Ming-min in the 1996 presidential election prompted further transition. In the meantime, the weakening of the moderate wing in the DPP put Chen in a very difficult posi...