The president's remarks were the latest in the play on the name concerning the Republic of China (ROC), Taiwan, and China that has continued to dog the 2004 presidential campaign as he and his opponent attempt to unravel the "myth" in their own interpretations.

Chen, who has made a series of provocative pro-independence moves in recent months, repeated his opposition to the "one China" policy espoused by Beijing.

"Why 'one China' when China and Taiwan are two different states? ... So our argument is we should ditch the 'one China' myth. We oppose 'one China,'" Chen told supporters at a campaign rally in his hometown of Tainan, southern Taiwan.

The opposition Kuomintang (KMT), which favors eventual reunification with China in the future, maintains that 'one China' refers to the Republic of China (Taiwan's official national name) while Beijing says the phrase refers to the People's Republic of China (mainland China's name).

"The ROC is Taiwan ... if they (opposition parties) continue to say the 'one China' is the ROC, then it must be a 'virtual' ROC," said President Chen, who is concurrently chairman of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

The president developed yet one more interpretation when he came up with his latest theory of "two sides, three nations" -- Taiwan, China, and Mongolia on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Chen has said he plans to press ahead with a referendum alongside the general election asking for the Taiwan public's verdict on China's aiming of around 500 ballistic missiles at the island.

The United States, which is Taiwan's biggest arms supplier and legally bound to protect the island from aggression, has warned that Washington opposes any moves by Taipei to change the "status quo."

Speaking to a crowd of young voters in Taipei, presidential candidate Lien Chan of the "pan-blue" alliance mentioned one of President Chen's favorite campaign slogans ahead of the March 20 vote: "On each side (of the strait), there's a country."

Lien said, "If you put it as simply as each side has one country, there should be no problem." Lien's KMT has been upholding the principle that the ROC has maintained independence with sovereignty since its establishment in 1911 by Dr. Sun Yat-sen.

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The KMT chairman argued that he had a more practical policy that would help reopen the long-stalled talks with China for cross-strait peace and economic development.

The KMT policy has been that there is only one China, but that the Communist leadership and the Taiwanese authorities should be free to define what that China is, based on their own conceptions.

Beijing calls it the communist "People's Republic of China," while the KMT calls it the "ROC." That's the name used by the KMT government when it ruled the mainland after it moved to Taipei following the end of the civil war with the Communists in 1949.

The KMT has long argued that people in Taiwan should be free to vote on whether they want to unify with Beijing or maintain the status quo.

In the past week, Lien has declined to reaffirm his "one China, each side can have different and respective interpretations" policy.

The DPP leaders have been repeatedly telling voters that the KMT's one-China policy is evidence that Lien is allegedly colluding with the Communists and wants to push for unification with a repressive Communist country.

The president has also challenged Lien to endorse the "one country on each side (of the Taiwan Strait) policy" and pledge that he's not going to "sell out Taiwan."

Chen accused his opponent of "parroting" his policies. Chen said that a president must be a leader who creates his own policies.