Taiwan Protests China's Anti-Separation Law

Reacting to the ASL, on the evening of March 14 Premier Frank Hsieh declared, "In recent years, the people of Taiwan have never felt more disgusted with the Chinese regime than they do today." According to Hsieh, the law will slow down progress in transport links and industrial exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.

Mainland Affairs Council chairman Joseph Wu said in an international press conference that policies already underway would not be affected, but to guarantee Taiwan's national security and renew mutual engagement between China and Taiwan, certain necessary measures would have to be taken. Wu said that in drafting future cross-strait financial and economic regulations, the Taiwan government would have to take into consideration the ASL and any factors that might follow from it.

As soon as the substance of the draft law became known, the governments of European countries, the US, and Japan voiced their serious concern. Despite a surge of international criticism, China's NPC passed the ASL, which comprises ten articles that stipulate its legislative purpose and scope of application, define the nature of the "Taiwan issue," and empower the Chinese State Council and the Central Military Commission (CMC) to employ "non-peaceful means" to stop "secessionist forces" from causing Taiwan to "secede" from China.

The ASL specifically states that "there is only one China in the world," and draws three lines in the sand to prevent Taiwan from "seceding" from China: "In the event that the 'Taiwan independence' secessionist forces act under any name or by any means to cause Taiwan's de facto secession from China, or that major incidents occur entailing Taiwan's secession from China, or that possibilities for a peaceful reunification are completely exhausted, the state may employ non-peaceful means and other necessary measures to protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity."

The law also authorizes the State Council and the CMC to "decide on and execute the non-peaceful means and other necessary measures," and requires them to promptly report to the Standing Committee of the NPC." This provision-which empowers the Chinese People's Liberation Army to employ non-peaceful means, i.e., military force, against Taiwan whenever any of the three conditions outlined above is met-has caused consternation in the international community about the possibility of war between China and Taiwan.

Although Chinese premier Wen Jiabao said at the close of the NPC that the ASL is "not a war law," that is precisely how international public opinion is interpreting it.

The New York Times noted that the passage of the ASL by the Chinese government is a political strategy, because regardless of whether it has any basis in law, China's leaders have already arrogated the power to invade Taiwan, and the ASL severely restricts Chen Shui-bian's political room for maneuver. Although the ASL harps on about "peaceful national reunification" it also clearly states that any amendment to Taiwan's constitution that would strengthen its de facto independent status may lead to a military response. Amending the constitution is one of President Chen's main goals during his second term in office.

In view of growing speculation in the international media about the possibility of a Chinese attack on Taiwan, the American government's attitude and position are worth noting.

The US government criticized the ASL, saying that its passage is "regrettable" and that it may set back cross-strait relations. In an interview with the Washington Post, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who plans to visit China at the end of March, said that making US East Asian regional policy and interests clear was extremely important. Rice said that the US continues to support the "one-China" policy, and that it does not expect either side to try to take advantage of the situation or to provoke the other side. Rice also said that the US had made it very clear to the Chinese government that under the Taiwan Relations Act, the US has certain responsibilities toward Taiwan.

In an unusual move, the Japanese government also immediately expressed its concern. Premier Junichiro Koizumi said that this law has a negative effect on Chinese-Taiwanese relations, and he also expressed the hope that the two sides could "work hard toward a peaceful solution." He called on China and Taiwan to exercise self-restraint and said Japan would continue to encourage both sides to achieve a peaceful solution. This is the first time in recent years that the Japanese government has expressed its willingness to lend a helping hand to try to resolve the Taiwan Strait problem. It would appear that Japan has reached a turning point in its Taiwan policy.

Dr. Edward I-hsin Chen, professor and director of the Graduate Institute of American Studies, Tamkang University, points out that from the time the content of the ASL draft was first made known until the law was promulgated, the US took a weaker stance than Japan. He notes that Washington is not exactly sanguine about the passage of the ASL, but neither is it likely to make a strong response against it. All it can do is to publicly call on both sides not to act rashly and to avoid getting into a game of tit-for-tat. The US is nominally putting the blame on both parties equally, but its policy is manifestly slanted in favor of China and is no longer balanced.

DPP legislator Lin Chuo-shui notes that the ASL throws cross-strait relations back to the "civil war" psychology of 50 years ago and that the international community is in an uproar, making future cross-strait relations even more uncertain.

Although the principal goal of the ASL is to prevent Taiwan's independence by force of arms if necessary, it also serves the Chinese government's domestic political agenda. After becoming China's president last year, Hu Jintao has passed the ASL to reduce the possibility of the Taiwan issue being used by party hawks as an excuse for a power struggle that would pose a challenge to his rule.

The entire world is watching Taiwan's next move. Chang Wu-yueh, an associate professor at Tamkang University's Institute of China Studies, cautions the Taiwan government to treat Beijing with pragmatism, not to issue a quid pro quo in response to the ASL, and to reciprocate the goodwill expressed in part of Hu Jintao's four-point proposal, particularly his statement that "the expectations we have placed upon the Taiwanese people will not change." Chang also says that now that the international community is paying close attention to the situation in the Taiwan Strait, there is a good opportunity to seek the cooperation of the US, Japan, and the European Union in getting Taiwan admitted to the World Health Organization and other international bodies. If Beijing does not want the gulf between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to grow ever wider, it will have to make a gesture of goodwill sooner rather than later.

Now that China and Taiwan are at daggers drawn, Taiwan will have to take the initiative in responding to the challenge posed by the ASL in a way that is neither servile nor provocative, to on the one hand solemnly declare the ROC's sovereignty, and on the other to avert this crisis and avoid war. This will be another stern test of President Chen's political acumen.