Chen Shui-bian, presidential nominee for Taiwan's biggest Democratic Progressive Party, answers ques.., 1999-07-27 (photo)

Chen Shui-bian, presidential nominee for Taiwan's biggest Democratic Progressive Party, answers questions in an interview with Reuters at his downtown campaign office in Taipei July 27. Chen said Taiwan's people should be left alone to decide the island's political future and its future ties with mainland China. Chen, former mayor of Taipei, also threw his weight behind [President Lee Teng-hui's] junking of "one China" policy, which helped underpin peace across the Taiwan strait for decades. Chen said Taiwan and the mainland are two separate and independent Chinese nations that should develop a special international relationship.