Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian last weekend bid to improve relations with China. In his National Day speech, Mr. Chen called on Beijing to resume long-stalled talks and help build confidence and lower tension across the Taiwan Strait. Critically, he seems willing to resume talks on the basis of the "one China" principle, which has been the foundation of Beijing's approach to Taiwan. Suspicions toward Mr. Chen persist in China, but the best way to address them is to test the president to see whether he is, in fact, willing to build a bridge across the troubled strait. China is unlikely to make that move.
Relations between Beijing and Taipei have been especially contentious since Mr. Chen took office in 2000. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party, he is the first opposition president to rule the island, considered a renegade province by the mainland. Mr. Chen's election shocked the Chinese leadership. Mr. Chen had devoted his political life to seeking independence for Taiwan, and Beijing did not think he had substantial support on the island. The mandarins in Beijing were also sure that Taiwanese voters would heed Chinese warnings that his election would endanger relations between the two governments.
Beijing miscalculated. Mr. Chen was elected and relations deteriorated. The new president touted a Taiwanese national identity and worked to win more international recognition for Taiwan. China continued to insist that any discussions with Taiwan could begin only when Taipei accepted the "one China" principle, which was agreed to by the two governments in historic talks in 1992. Mr. Chen refused and the stalemate endured.