NOW he's back in office for another four years (barring a recount that reverses the outcome, which is unlikely). Will he vigorously pursue Taiwan's independence? Of course not.
As he fully expected, he lost a referendum that was supposed to set the precedent for Taiwan holding a real referendum on independence later on: For the outcome to be valid, 50 per cent of the voters in the presidential election had to ask for a referendum ballot, and since the KMT had told its supporters to boycott the referendum, there was no risk of that happening.
The referendum failed, and Mr Chen is free to carry on as before.
Just maintaining Taiwan's de facto independence has produced ample rewards for most people, and they are not thirsting after martyrdom in the name of some political ideal. Neither is Mr Chen: The crisis was never real.