Washington saw Chen's declaration as a friendly gesture, an indication of the moderate progress the DPP leader has made in revising his pro-independence stance. He could find himself embarrassed by his conciliatory approach toward Beijing. Ironically, all three presidential hopefuls' remained quiet after the release Monday of the PRC's bluntest warning to date. Chen's camp tried to distracted public attention from him by saying China's hostility was directed at all three major candidates, not just Chen, since Beijing also requested an immediate timetable for reunification. Soong's responded by saying that the Taiwanese are not afraid of China's bluffing.
Electoral concern is an obvious factor.
The current case, however, is different. The white paper comes at a time when a rigid three-way competition is taking place and any miscalculation of campaign tactics might turn the final outcome upside down. It is natural for them to resort to such claims, instead of using a more populist strategy to react to Beijing's latest hostility. After all, they won't gain any additional political points for doing so. In this sense, the real lesson each candidate should learn from Beijing's release of the Taiwan policy is the extent to which the next Taiwan president can map out a more realistic and attainable cross-strait policy.