But Chen Yi-hsin says that mainland China's actions, targeted at Taiwan's first presidential elections, took place in a highly agitated atmosphere. The US, he says, was merely concerned that the two sides might accidentally start a war, "so it decided to lower the temperature." The US might not take the same action if Taiwan brought war on itself by declaring independence.
陳一新卻認為，上回中共演習正逢我國有史以來第一次全民直選總統，又是在李登輝總統紡美後，兩岸關係低迷時，美國「一方面認為李的訪美之行，美國亦有責任，一方面擔心大選前後民心激昂，雙方都不夠自製而擦槍走火，企圖降溫，下次很難再有同樣情況了！」