The Four Noes and One Without (Chinese: 四不一沒有; pinyin: sì bù, yī méiyǒu) is a pledge by President of the Republic of China Chen Shui-bian made in his inauguration speech on 20 May 2000 concerning the political status of Taiwan. It has been an important part of cross-straits relations. Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: 汉语拼音; Traditional Chinese: 漢語拼音; Hanyu Pinyin: , lit. ... The Office of the President of the Republic of China is located in Zhongzheng District, Taipei City. ... Chen Shui-bian, President of the Republic of China Chen Shui-bian (ch. ... 20 May is the 140th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (141st in leap years). ... This article is about the year 2000. ... Taiwan Strait Area The political status of Taiwan is a controversy over whether Taiwan, including the Pescadores (Penghu), should remain the effective territory of the Republic of China (ROC), become unified with the territories now governed by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), or become the Republic of Taiwan. ...

Provided that the People's Republic of China does not use military force to attack Taiwan, Chen's administration promises not to do the following things (the "Four Noes"):

• declare Taiwanese independence,
• change the national title from "the Republic of China" to "the Republic of Taiwan",
• include the doctrine of special state-to-state relations in the Constitution of the Republic of China, or
• promote a referendum on unification or independence.

In addition, the "One Without" was that Chen pledged not to abolish the National Unification Council or the National Unification guidelines though during his administration the National Unification Council has not met once. On February 27, 2006, the Council was abolished. Taiwan independence (Traditional Chinese: 台灣獨立; Pinyin: , Pe̍h-oÄ“-jÄ«: Tâi-oân To̍k-li̍p; abbreviated to 台獨, Táidú, Tâi-to̍k) is a political movement whose goal is primarily to create an independent and sovereign Republic of Taiwan (out of the lands currently administered by the... National motto: None Official language Mandarin Chinese Capital and largest city Taipei President Chen Shui-bian Vice President Annette Lu Premier Su Tseng-chang Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 138th 35,980 km² 2. ... A flag for the proposed independent Taiwan designed in 1996. ... In 1996 the president of ROC on Taiwan Lee Teng Hui stated in an interview with the German press that the relation between PRC and ROC is referred as special state to state relations. ... The Constitution of the Republic of China (traditional Chinese: 中華民國憲法; Hanyu Pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó Xiànfǎ; Tongyong Pinyin: JhongHuá MínGuó SiànFǎ) is currently the basic governing document for the areas controlled by the Republic of China, namely all of Taiwan Province, Taipei and Kaohsiung municipalities, and Kinmen county and part of... A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita, a decree of the Concilium Plebis) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... Chinese (re)unification (Template:Zh-addtsp) is a goal of ass Chinese nationalism that refers to the reunification of all of China under a single political entity. ... The National Unification Council (Chinese: 國家統一委員會), established in 1990, is a governmental body in the Republic of China on Taiwan whose aim is to promote unification with Mainland China. ... The Guidelines for National Unification (Chinese: 國家統一綱領) were written by the National Unification Council, an advisory body of the Republic of China government, regarding the reunification of China. ...

The Four Noes and One Without have become an important part of ROC-U.S. relations. Several times, Chen has had to reassure the United States that the Four Noes and One Without policy has not been abolished and that he is not attempting to circumvent the pledge via some of the loopholes that have been suggested. The phrase that the United States used with regard is that the United States "appreciates Chen's pledge and takes it very seriously." The Republic of China, now on Taiwan is currently recognised only by 25 countries. ...

Policy revision

On 27 Feb 2006, Chen dismantled the National Unification Council saying it "will cease functioning and the budget no longer be appropriated", effectively breaking the promises made in 2000. In the week prior, he told U.S. Congressman Rob Simmons (R-CT) that the Council and Guidelines were "absurd products of an absurd era." [1] Chen has revealed he planned to draft a new constitution, which many conjectured would be pro-separatist, before he stepped down in 2008. February 27 is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Rep. ... The Republican Party was established in 1854 by a coalition of former Whigs, Northern Democrats, and Free-Soilers who opposed the expansion of slavery and held a Hamiltonian vision for modernizing the United States. ... These are tables of congressional delegations from Connecticut to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives. ...

Criticism

Koo Kwang-ming and other pro-independence leaders openly criticized that Chen, as president, is "not constitutionally authorized" and has "no legal power" to confine Taiwanese political future and freedom with the pledge. In addition, some of Chen's supporters such as Vice-President Annette Lu have suggested that the pledge may have loopholes such as the definition of military force. Furthermore, while the pledge stated that Chen would not support a referendum, some have suggested that it does not exclude the possibility of a referendum occurring by citizen initiative. The possibility of loopholes has occasionally led to considerable unease in Beijing and in Washington DC. Hsiu-lien Annette Lu (呂秀蓮, pinyin: Lǚ Xiùlián) (born June 7, 1944) is the vice president of Republic of China on Taiwan and a politician of the Democratic Progressive Party. ...

Under strong objection from pro-independence leaders and his supporters, who threatened to walk out the inauguration ceremony immediately once the pledge was recited, Chen did not explicitly repeat this pledge in his 2004 inauguration speech after his re-election though he alluded to the pledge by stating that the assurances he had given in the 2000 inaugural address remained in effect, and he has stated many times that the pledge remains in effect. Elections for the President and Vice President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) were held on March 20, 2004. ...

See also

• Politics of the Republic of China
• Sino-American relations