Taiwan's foreign minister resigns: "Two days after the resignation of Therese Shaheen, chairwoman of the American Institute in Taiwan, Foreign Minister Eugene Chien also resigned. Chien took responsibility for the ministry's role in preparing a letter of congratulations for President Chen Shui-bian from Shaheen's office after last month's election, the results of which are still contested by the opposition.
Chien's office reportedly drafted the letter for Shaheen to sign to congratulate Chen upon his re-election. Shaheen was head of the de facto U.S. mission in Taiwan. The unauthorized letter angered Beijing and upset the White House, leading to Shaheen's resignation on Wednesday."

Get a load of The Epoch Times headline: US Representative in Taiwan Quits Following Chinese Complaints. Still, they note: "State Department officials said problems with Ms. Shaheen emanated not from Chinese complaints but from concerns that her statements on the sensitive U.S.-Taiwan relationship sometimes were at variance with official U.S. policy. She is understood to have drawn internal criticism last year for telling Taiwanese reporters that the long-standing U.S. policy of 'not supporting' Taiwanese independence did not mean the United States opposes the concept."

Taiwan foreign minister resigns: "Shaheen created a stir by congratulating President Chen Shui-bian for his March 20 re-election before the White House or U.S. State Department sent messages - a departure from long-standing diplomatic tradition.
The matter was especially sensitive because the opposition has disputed Chen's narrow victory.
Shaheen conveyed early congratulations to the president by calling Taiwan's representative in Washington.
The Taiwanese diplomat passed on the message to the Foreign Ministry and it quickly became public, giving the president a boost in his postelection feud with opposition candidate Lien Chan. "

Channelnewsasia.com: "Chien's resignation followed that of Therese Shaheen, head of the de facto US diplomatic mission to the island, who quit earlier this week after voicing her support for Chen Shui-bian's re-election before the White House had issued an official statement.

Chien said he had bungled the handling of Shaheen's resignation, but declined to elaborate on his move which observers said was linked to his push for Shaheen's congratulations on President Chen's March 20 re-election."