Associated Press

Taipei, March 11:

A small pro-independence party proposed today to hold a referendum to reject China’s anti-secession law aimed at Taiwan, but pro-unification lawmakers warned the island’s leaders against taking rash moves that might spark a war. The debate in Taiwan’s legislature was triggered by the legislation China unveiled on Tuesday. The measure authorises an attack on Taiwan if the island moves toward formal independence, but it says an invasion will only be the last resort. Taiwan immediately denounced the law as a “blank check to invade,” but Beijing has rejected appeals to withdraw the law. The two sides split amid civil war in 1949, but China claims Taiwan a part of its territory to be unified with the mainland by force if necessary.

The Taiwan Solidarity Union today urged President Chen Shui-bian to call a referendum to reject the Chinese law. The small party also unveiled a proposed anti-annexation law to underscore Taiwan’s sovereignty and its separate status from China. “We must not remain silent nor quietly accept the bandits’ extortions, threats, and intimidations,” said the TSU Chairman Su Chin-chiang. The TSU is allied with the ruling Democratic Progressive Party but takes a stronger pro-independence stance. Despite its opposition to the Chinese law, the Taiwanese government appeared reluctant to risk raising the political tension with Beijing.

The president’s party plans a protest of half a million people on March 26 to denounce the legislation, and it has urged opposition parties to back the move.