Editing Chen Shui-bian (section)

==Position on Taiwan's political status==
{{Taiwan independence movement}}
In 1999, the [[Democratic Progressive Party]] amended its charter to regard Taiwan as already independent as the ROC, and therefore it was unnecessary to declare independence. In his 2000 inauguration speech, Chen struck a more moderate tone and pledged to the [[Four Noes and One Without]]: that as long as the PRC did not intend to use military force against Taiwan, he would not declare independence, change the name of the country to "Republic of Taiwan", push for the inclusion of "special state-to-state relations" in the Constitution, or promote a referendum on independence. In addition, he pledged not to abolish the [[National Unification Council]]. However, in August 2002, frustrated by a lack of reciprocation from the PRC, he described the relationship as "one country on each side" and initiated a [[2004 Taiwanese cross-strait relations referendum|referendum]] on cross-strait relations in 2004, returning to a more confrontational stance.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mattlin |first1=Mikael |title=Same Content, Different Wrapping: Cross-Strait Policy Under DPP Rule |journal=China Perspectives |date=2004 |volume=2004 |issue=56 |doi=10.4000/chinaperspectives.436|doi-access=free }}</ref>

In a 2007 interview with the [[New York Times]], Chen reiterated the DPP stance that Taiwan was already independent.<ref>{{cite news |title=Complete Interview with President Chen Shui-bian |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/18/world/asia/19taiwan-web.html |website=[[New York Times]] |date=18 October 2007 |access-date=6 November 2021 |archive-date=6 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106040930/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/18/world/asia/19taiwan-web.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Post-presidency, Chen has expressed his wishes to one day visit the village in Fujian which his ancestors migrated from in the 18th century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/03/31/taiwan.nukes/index.html |title=CNN.com – Taipei opposes nuclear solution – March 31, 2002 |website=CNN |access-date=7 January 2017 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305092827/http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/03/31/taiwan.nukes/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2006/07/02/2003316835 |title=Make Taiwan your home: Chen |newspaper=Taipei Times |date=31 December 2016 |access-date=7 January 2017 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303211535/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2006/07/02/2003316835 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2018, Chen, along with [[Lee Teng-hui]], expressed support for a [[Formosa Alliance]] plan to amend the referendum act to allow for a 2019 referendum on ''de jure'' independence, though neither goal was realized by the planned date.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shih |first1=Hsiu-chuan |title=Independence referendum launched, backed by former presidents |url=https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/201802280006 |access-date=6 November 2021 |work=[[Central News Agency (Taiwan)]] |date=28 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808154801/https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/201802280006 |archive-date=8 August 2020}}</ref>