Four Noes and One Without

The Four Noes and One Without (simplified Chinese: 四不一没有; traditional Chinese: 四不一沒有; pinyin: sì bù, yī méiyǒu), also known as the Four Noes (Chinese: 四不; pinyin: sì bù) was a pledge by former 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 was an important part of cross-straits relations.

The pledge was that, provided the People's Republic of China has no intention to use military force against Taiwan, Chen's administration would not:

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

The above four pledges are called the "Four Noes".

In addition, the "One Without" was that Chen's administration would not abolish the National Unification Council (later abolished in 2006) or the National Unification Guidelines though during his administration the National Unification Council met only once. On February 27, 2006, the Council ceased to function in tandem with the elimination of its already meager budget. Chen said that his decision did not change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, but instead returned sovereignty to the people of Taiwan.

The Four Noes and One Without were an important part of Republic of China-United States relations. Several times, Chen had to reassure the United States that the Four Noes and One Without policy had not been abolished and that he was not attempting to circumvent the pledge via any loopholes. The phrase that the United States used with regard to the policy of "Four Noes and One Without" was that the United States "appreciate Chen's pledge and t it very seriously."