Antoaneta Bezlova

China’s parliament adopted a highly controversial anti-secession bill Monday that aims to curb Taiwan’s moves toward independence by threatening the use of force. Chinese premier Wen Jiabao said China would brook no dissent or “foreign interference” on its claims of sovereignty over the island but stopped short of revealing what kind of “non- peaceful means” Beijing would employ should Taiwan cross the line of independence. “This law is not a bill of war but one for the peaceful reunification of the motherland,” Wen told reporters at a press conference. “It is to contain and oppose Taiwan separatist forces.” He was speaking after the end of the annual session of China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC). The NPC ratified the anti-secession law with an overwhelming vote of 2,896 to nil, the state news agency ‘Xinhua’ reported. The law becomes effective immediately.

The law, which has raised the stakes in the Taiwan Straits, gives China’s communist-led government the mandate to use “non-peaceful means” should “Taiwan secede from China under any name or by any means.” The “non-peaceful means” were described by premier as a “last resort” but he made clear that efforts by Taiwan to formalise a separate identity from the mainland could trigger a military response. “The fact that mainland China and Taiwan haven’t been reunified yet, hasn’t changed in the slightest the status quo — which is that both the mainland and Taiwan belong to one China,” Wen said. References to the “non-peaceful means” in the partial text of the law released by the ‘Xinhua’ were vague, allowing Chinese leaders to retain freedom in deciding if Taiwan had violated the law.

In clear reference to Taiwan’s moves towards independence, China’s President Hu Jintao called on army leaders Sunday to step up preparations for a possible war, and to safeguard territorial integrity. In his first speech to the People’s Liberation Army, Hu said national sovereignty should come first. Also Monday, China’s parliament approved a 12.6 per cent year-on-year increase in the official military budget. China has been vexed by Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian’s efforts to amend the island’s constitution, change its name and hold referendums regarding its nationhood status. Chinese leaders have tried to downplay the military option and strike moderate and conciliatory tone toward Taiwan. “This law is meant to strengthen and promote cross-straits relations,” Wen told the press. But reactions across Taiwan have been of opposition and anger.

Over 90 per cent of Taiwanese oppose the use of force to resolve the sovereignty issue, a poll carried by the Institute of National Policy Research in early March revealed. The president has called on Taiwan’s people to take to the streets in great numbers for a rally on Mar. 26 to protest against the mainland’s anti-secession law. The promulgation of the law comes at an awkward time as recent months have seen the easing of political tensions between Taiwan and China. In January, the first direct air links between the mainland and Taiwan allowed Chinese and Taiwanese businessmen to travel between the two places for the Spring Festival which marked the start of the Lunar New Year. The US has condemned the passage of the law as something that stokes the fire of instability, instead of contributing towards recent trends in the warming of cross-strait relations. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the legislation is “unwelcome”. — IPS