president with consent of
the Legislative Yuan)

Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [YU Shyi-kun]; Kuomintang or
KMT (Nationalist Party) [MA Ying-jeou]; People First Party or PFP
[CHANG Chao-hsiung (acting)]; Taiwan Solidarity Union or TSU [HUANG
Kun-hui]; other minor parties including the Chinese New Party or NP

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Taiwan independence movement, various business and environmental
groups
note: debate on Taiwan independence has become acceptable within the
mainstream of domestic politics on Taiwan; political liberalization
and the increased representation of opposition parties in Taiwan's
legislature have opened public debate on the island's national
identity; a broad popular consensus has developed that the island
currently enjoys sovereign independence and - whatever the ultimate
outcome regarding reunification or independence - that Taiwan's
people must have the deciding voice; public opinion polls
consistently show a substantial majority of Taiwan people supports
maintaining Taiwan's status quo for the foreseeable future;
advocates of Taiwan independence oppose the stand that the island
will eventually unify with mainland China; goals of the Taiwan
independence movement include establishing a sovereign nation on
Taiwan and entering the UN; other organizations supporting Taiwan
independence include the World United Formosans for Independence and
the Organization for Taiwan Nation Building

International organization participation:
APEC, AsDB, ICC, ICRM, IFRCS, IOC, ITUC, WCL, WHO (observer), WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people
of the US are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality, the
Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO), which
has its headquarters in Taipei and in the US in Washington, DC;
there are also branch offices called Taipei Economic and Cultural
Office (TECO) in 12 other US cities

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people
on Taiwan are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality - the
American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) - which has offices in the US and
Taiwan; US office at 1700 N. Moore St., Suite 1700, Arlington, VA
22209-1996, telephone: [1] (703) 525-8474, FAX: [1] (703) 841-1385);
Taiwa