Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian Saturday coined an ambiguous title for the island, calling it the "Republic of China is Taiwan" in a bid to please pro-independence hardliners and try not to overly offend rival Beijing, dpa reported. "After the transfer of power in 2000, the Republic of China is Taiwan, while the People's Republic of China is China. So the Republic of China is not China. This is something we all must be clear," he said in a video conference with a group of hardliners. The Nationalists set up the Republic of China (ROC) in 1912, but were forced to flee to the island after losing a civil war in 1949 to the Chinese Communists, which set up the People's Republic of China (PRC) on the mainland. After it fled to the island, the Nationalists formed an interim government in Taiwan, still calling it the ROC. But it lost its five-decade rule of the island after Chen of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the presidency in 2000 and started a campaign to promote "Taiwanese identity". --more 1507 Local Time 1207 GMT
