Freeman Report February 2006 - Vol. 4, No. 2

In his New Year's speech President Chen Shui-bian stated that he was considering abolition of the largely defunct Unification Council, a bid for membership in the United Nations under the name of "Taiwan," and completion of a new draft constitution by the end of the year in order to hold a popular referendum on the document next year. These three proposals landed like hand grenades in the fragile landscapes of cross-Strait relations, U.S.-Taiwan relations, and pan-Greenpan- Blue relations. In response, the State Department was prompted to reiterate its opposition to unilateral changes to the status quo, Beijing was predictably outraged, and the pan-Green and pan-Blue camps opened up full domestic political combat.