Beijing, which still considers the island an integral part of China that must be brought back to the Chinese fold, if necessary, by force, has repeatedly warned Taiwan against declaring independence, saying it would lead to war. The warning has forced Chen to take a more cautious approach in his campaign, but pro-independence hardliners are strongly dissatisfied with such an approach and demand that Chen go ahead to declare formation of Taiwan state. In his video conference with members of the hard-line World United Formosans for Independence during its 32nd annual convention in Australia, Chen said whenever he visited abroad, he often referred the island as "Republic of China (Taiwan), and he has used this title at the Presidential Office's website. "I know some of you might not be satisfied, but you should know? Taiwan cannot be severed from its history," he said. He said no doubt the ROC existed in China between 1912 and 1949. After the Nationalists fled to Taiwan, that ROC should be called "ROC moving to Taiwan", he said. When Lee Teng-hui was president between 1988 and 2000, he identified the island as "ROC on Taiwan," while after DPP won the presidency in 2000, the title should be "ROC is Taiwan," Chen said. He said the biggest challenge for Taiwan, however, is not which title it should use, but rather Beijing's efforts to totally deny the rights and fact of Taiwan as a sovereign independent country. --SPA 1508 Local Time 1208 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/282842
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