Hopes that Taiwan's president, Mr. Chen Shui-bian, might alter course and reach out to China were shattered last week. Mr. Chen's New Year address made plain that he remains as combative as ever, despite having lost the upper hand in cross-strait relations with Beijing in 2005. The president's determination will gratify the faithful in his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but it is likely to dismay many other Taiwanese, as well as Taiwan's friends throughout the world.

The year 2005 was a bad one for Mr. Chen. The December 2004 Legislative Yuan election victory for the opposition parties should have sent a message to the president that his hard line on relations with China was no substitute for good governance and solving the very real problems that Taiwan faces. The determined efforts of the opposition to oppose every government initiative no doubt made his job harder, but a president is nevertheless supposed to lead. The failure to assuage citizens' concerns was felt again in last month's local elections.

The opposition was aided by Beijing's energetic efforts to reach out to it while marginalizing the president. Mr. Lien Chen and Mr. James Soong, heads of the Nationalist KMT and the People's First Party, respectively, visited the mainland during 2005 and were greeted effusively by the Chinese Communist Party leadership, including Chinese President Hu Jintao. (The two men visited as heads of their parties.)