Strait Talk

Of all the challenges in asia with which President George W. Bush will have to deal, none is so vexingor so potentially catastrophic should it be handled badlyas the relationship between China and Taiwan. Beijing sees Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian, who was re-elected to a second four-year term in March, as a dangerous "splittist" who is determined to lead Taiwan to independence, something that China has made clear it will not tolerate. The U.S. is pledged to provide Taiwan with defensive weapons but has warned Chen against upsetting the status quo. Chen recently spoke with Time's Michael Elliott. Here are...

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