Anti-Secession Law
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The Anti-Secession Law (Chinese: 反分裂国家法) is a law of the People's Republic of China, passed by the 3rd Session of the 10th National People's Congress. It was ratified on March 14, 2005, and went into effect immediately. President Hu Jintao promulgated the law with Presidential Decree No. 34.[1] Although the law, at ten articles, is relatively short, Article 8 formalized the long-standing policy of the PRC to use military means against Taiwan independence in the event peaceful means become otherwise impossible. The law does not explicitly equate "China" with the People's Republic of China (referred to in the law as "the State").
The Anti-Secession Law is the only law passed by the National People's Congress that has neither the prefix "People's Republic of China" nor "Decision/Resolution of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress."[2][3][4]
Background
The official Republic of China (ROC) view is that it did not cease to exist in 1949 and has continued to function as a sovereign political entity in Taiwan to the present day, making the relationship between the PRC and ROC similar to that between other partitioned states (such as
Multiple opinion polls conducted in Taiwan have indicated that there is very little support for immediate unification on the PRC's terms or for an immediate declaration of independence.[5] Polls have also consistently shown that a large majority of Taiwanese would support discussion of unification only if the economic and political systems of the two sides were comparable.[6] A majority of Taiwan residents appear to support the "status quo" but there are different opinions in Taiwanese society, within the PRC, and within the international community, over what the status quo is. A full 74 percent of the Taiwanese public agree that "Taiwan is an independent sovereign country"[7][8]
The re-election of
These events in late 2004 caused a great deal of alarm in Beijing. Observers indicated that many in Beijing believed that its policies toward Taiwan had failed both because it did not have sufficient incentives to gain Taiwanese public support for unification and at the same time, it seemed that many in Taiwan did not take Beijing's stated threats of force seriously. The ROC government had defined the status quo in such a way that a de jure declaration of independence could be argued to not represent a change in the status quo. Some Chinese[who?] believe these events led to the formulation in 2003 and 2004 of the Anti-Secession Law.
In early 2004 a similar proposed law had been tabled. Titled the
In the December 2004 ROC Legislative elections, although the ruling
In announcing the drafting of the law in December 2004, the Head of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (Chinese: 全国人大常委会法制工作委员会负责人) mentioned explicitly that the law was not intended to be applied to Hong Kong and Macau.[11]
Provisions
The Law is composed of ten articles. Articles one to five are aspirational. Articles six to nine set out in general terms the procedures for promoting
Article one states that the aim of the law is to prevent "Taiwan's secession from China" and promote
Articles two to four outline the PRC government's view of the present political status of Taiwan. This view is that mainland China and Taiwan belong to one China, that there is only one China and that the sovereignty of that one China is indivisible; the "Taiwan issue" is a residual problem of the Chinese Civil War and is an internal affair of China.
Article five maintains that the
Article six deals with cross-strait relations. It states that in order to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan straits and to foster cross-strait relations, the State should
- encourage people-to-people contact to foster closer relations and understanding
- encourage cross-strait economic exchanges
- encourage scientific and cultural exchanges
- joint efforts to fight crime and
- encourage efforts to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan straits.
Article seven deals with cross-strait negotiation. It states that the State shall support negotiations and consultations on both sides of the straits with equal status, with different modalities, and in differing stages. The topics of such talks can include
- ending the states of hostilities across the straits
- developing rules for cross strait relations
- the means of promoting unification
- the political status of the Taiwanese authorities
- appropriate means by which Taiwan can participate in international organizations, and
- any other issues relating to unification.
Article eight deals with non-peaceful action, and is the article which has caused the most controversy and attention. It states that the State shall use non-peaceful and other necessary means under these alternative conditions:
- if "Taiwan independence" forces, under whatever name and method, accomplish the fact of Taiwan's separation from China,
- or if a major event occurs which would lead to Taiwan's separation from China,
- or if all possibility of peaceful unification is lost.
Article nine states that in the planning and implementation of "non-peaceful and other necessary actions", the State must, as much as possible, act to protect the persons and property of Taiwanese civilians and foreigners in Taiwan, and to minimise their losses. The State must also protect Taiwanese interests in the PRC.
Development
In December 2004, the PRC state news agency Xinhua reported that the National People's Congress in its upcoming session would enact an 'anti-secession law', without specifying further details.[citation needed]
In a rare moment of agreement, politicians in Taiwan from both the
President Chen Shui-bian commented on the 'anti-secession law' during his 2005 new year speech: "Such actions will not only unilaterally change the status quo of peace in the Taiwan Strait, but will also pose the greatest threat to regional stability and world peace." Whereas the PRC Paramount leader Hu Jintao said "We will definitely not allow anyone to separate Taiwan from China by any means," in his New Year's Eve speech.[14]
Although the PRC's official English translation of the law is the Anti-Secession Law, the Mainland Affairs Council in Taiwan has consistently translated it as Anti-Separation Law as secession implies that Taiwan is a part of the PRC. The Mainland Affairs Council and the ROC government has argued that the relationship across the Taiwan Strait is not analogous to the situation during the American Civil War since Taiwan was never part of the PRC.
Early reaction
Beijing claims that this bill is the PRC's most sincere attempt at resolving the Taiwan issue peacefully (see Political status of Taiwan). However, Taipei points to Article 8 as cause for concern. Shortly after the bill was passed, President Chen Shui-bian called for a National Security meeting in Taipei to discuss the issue.
One major topic of controversy between Beijing and Taipei is to what degree the law changes the status quo in the Taiwan Straits. Beijing has maintained that the law preserves the status quo and creates no new conditions for the use of force. In contrast, Taipei has argued that the law does change the status quo and gives the People's Liberation Army a "blank check" to attack Taiwan.
Prior to the passage of the bill, a statement from Taipei's Mainland Affairs Council and a resolution overwhelmingly passed by the ROC legislature stated that the status quo is that the
After the law was passed, a Mainland Affairs Council official referred to Beijing's definition of "one China" in the PRC law as fiction.[citation needed]
Reaction in mainland China
Reaction within the PRC was mostly consistent. State media and the Beijing leadership all stood firmly behind the new law and vowed never to allow anyone, using any means, to "separate Taiwan from China", in any name. The National People's Congress voted unanimously in favor of the law, with two abstentions. In the run-up to the law's ratification, state media in the PRC accused those in Taiwan in favour of Taiwan independence of creating hostility to the new law and of confusing the Taiwanese into thinking that the law had hostile intent. Prior to passing the law,
Reaction in Hong Kong
At the time the unification law was proposed by legal scholar
Reaction in Taiwan
In Taiwan, the passage of the law was condemned by officials and politicians from both the Pan-Green Coalition and the Pan-Blue Coalition, although there were differences in the content of their criticism. Supporters of the Pan-Green Coalition tended to react angrily to the spirit and content of the law as an infringement of what they saw as Taiwanese sovereignty. By contrast, supporters of the Pan-Blue Coalition, while stating that they opposed the law and the threat of force against Taiwan, called for more dialogue with the PRC and pointed to parts of the law in which Beijing showed hitherto unseen flexibility.
Opinion polls indicated widespread opposition to the law among the general public. Some questioned whether Beijing had the authority to enact such a law as they claim that Taiwan is not under the PRC jurisdiction (See Political status of Taiwan). The Pan-Green Coalition, in particular, reacted with distaste and there have been calls for an "anti-annexation law" to be passed by the legislature. Premier Frank Hsieh pointed out that the PRC law had already infringed on ROC sovereignty and thus met the criteria for initiating a "defensive referendum" under the ROC constitution. However, he added that whether a defensive referendum would be invoked is at the discretion of the ROC president.[16]
A protest march against the PRC law took place on March 26 and it was widely reported that one million Taiwanese participated in the protest. Both the former President Lee Teng-hui and President Chen Shui-bian joined the march. However, Chen Shui-bian announced in advance that he would only attend the march and wouldn't be giving a speech. Most politicians from the Pan-Blue Coalition did not participate in any protest march, although they claimed that they would not dissuade their supporters from attending if they wished. The turnout of the march became a subject of political debate in Taiwan, with the mayor of Taipei city, Ma Ying-jeou, downplaying the participant number to around 270,000, while the march organizers claimed that the goal of one million participants was reached.
On March 25, 2008, DPP legislators tabled a bill titled the "Anti-Annexation Peace Law" at the procedural committee level in the legislature, which would have stated that "Taiwan and China are not subordinate to each other"; that "Taiwan is a sovereign state"; and that "the relationship between Taiwan and China is one between two states". It would have expressed hope that the Taiwan issue be resolved peacefully, but that if the status quo of the Taiwan Strait should change, the President would have the power to deal non-peacefully with "China's annexation". The bill was rejected at the procedural committee level by a vote of 11:2 and was not presented to the legislature.[17]
International responses
In response to the enactment of the PRC law, the European Union issued a statement urging "all sides to avoid any unilateral action that could stoke tensions," and recalled the "constant principles that guide its policy, namely its commitment to the principle of one China and the peaceful resolution of dispute...and its opposition to any use of force."[19][20] Later, on 14 April 2005, the European Parliament adopted an own-initiative report by Elmar Brok MEP, with paragraph 33 stating:
- [The European Parliament expresses] its deepest concern at the large number of missiles in southern China aimed across the Taiwan Straits and at the so-called "anti-secession law" of the People's Republic of China that in an unjustified way aggravates the situation across the Straits; calls on the People's Republic of China and on the R.O.C. in Taiwan to resume political talks on the basis of mutual understanding and recognition in order to promote stability, democracy, human rights and the rule of law in east Asia.[21]
The EU also decided to continue with the arms embargo, which had been imposed upon the PRC after the
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said "I wish both parties would work towards a peaceful resolution and I hope that this law will not have negative effects."
Australian foreign minister
Several other nations expressed support for the PRC's anti-secession law, including:
- CIS nations: Russia,[23] Belarus,[24] Uzbekistan,[25] Azerbaijan[26]
- Latin American and Caribbean nations: Cuba, Venezuela, and Dominica.[27]
- Asian and Middle Eastern nations: Indonesia,[28] Cambodia,[29] Nepal,[30] Syria,[31] Pakistan,[24] North Korea,[32] Iraq[32]
- African nations: Ethiopia,[33] Comoros[32]
- the former nation of Serbia and Montenegro[32]
See also
- Chinese unification
- National People's Congress Decision on Hong Kong national security legislation, similar law regarding Hong Kong
- New York Anti-Secession Ordinance, a non-binding New York state resolution characterized in Chinese media as a federal U.S. anti-secession law
- Political status of Taiwan
- Proposed National Unification Promotion Law
- Secession
- "Taiwan, China"
- Taiwan Province
- Taiwan Relations Act
- Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China
References
- ^ "中华人民共和国主席令第三十四号". Archived from the original on 2005-05-09.
- ^ "《反分裂国家法》全文". www.fmprc.gov.cn. Archived from the original on 2022-03-03. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
- ^ "Anti-Secession Law adopted by NPC (full text)". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2021-11-06. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
- ^ "人大立法--法治网". www.legaldaily.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2022-03-03. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
- ^ "民意调查(民国95年3月31日~4月2日)「民众对当前两岸关系之看法」结果摘要". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2006-10-22. Summary Results, Opinion Poll on Cross-Strait Relations, Mainland Affairs Council, Republic of China
- ^ "第四次「大陆政策与两岸关系」大型面访民意调查结果分析报告". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2006-10-22. Fourth Major Opinion Poll on Mainland Policies, Mainland Affairs Council, Republic of China
- ^ MAC webmaster (27 June 2009). "Combined Analysis Report on Public Opinion Surveys on Cross-Strait Relations in 2007". Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
- ^ Diversity Amid Globalization 4th Edition by Rowntree, Lewis, Price and Wyckoff
- ^ (In which Chen increased his standing from 39.30% in a three-way race in 2000 to 50.11% in a two-way race) Gunde, Richard (2004-03-26). "The Election in Taiwan: A Forum". University of California Asia Institute. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2007-03-26. Retrieved 2007-02-10.
- ^ (according to Liu Yi-chou (劉義周), director of National Chengchi University's Election Study Center) Staff Reporter (2004-12-13). "Saturday not a defeat for DPP, analysts say". Taipei Times. p. 3. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-02-09.
- ^ "反分裂国家法不适用香港、澳门特别行政区_中国人大网". National People's Congress. Archived from the original on 2022-03-03. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
- ^ "Anti-Secession Law (Full text)(03/15/05)". Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America. Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
- ^ "蕃薯藤-新聞-民調:近八成民眾認為反國家分裂法為犯台藉口". Archived from the original on 2005-03-17. Retrieved 2004-01-02.
- ^ "Dailytimes - Your Right To Know". Archived from the original on 2006-02-26.
- ^ Albert, Eleanor M. (March 2020). "Revisiting China's Anti-Secession Law". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 17 February 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ http://yam.udn.com/yamnews/daily/2564075.shtml[permanent dead link]
- ^ 綠提反併吞和平法 遭國民黨封殺 Archived May 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine (Pan-Green proposes Anti-Annexation Peace Law; rejected by Kuomintang)
- ^ "VOA News - US House Criticizes China Bill on Taiwan Secession". Archived from the original on 2005-04-02. Retrieved 2005-03-17.
- ^ "News". Archived from the original on 2005-03-16. Retrieved 2005-03-15.
- ^ "FAPA - Important Issues - UN Campaign". Archived from the original on 2005-04-14. Retrieved 2005-03-23.
- ^ http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+TA+P6-TA-2005-0132+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN "Common Foreign and Security Policy". European Parliament. 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-20.
- ^ "Alexander Downer, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Interview - Sky Television with David Speers". Archived from the original on 2005-06-15. Retrieved 2005-07-06.
- ^ "Sputnik International". Archived from the original on March 19, 2005.
- ^ a b "Belarus supports China's anti-secession law". People's Daily Online. Archived from the original on 2005-04-08. Retrieved 2005-03-16.
- ^ "Xinhua - English". Archived from the original on September 13, 2005.
- ^ "Azerbaijan FM says unified China benefits world stability". People's Daily Online. Archived from the original on 2005-03-18. Retrieved 2005-03-16.
- ^ "Three Caribbean countries back China's anti-secession law". People's Daily Online. Archived from the original on 2005-03-18. Retrieved 2005-03-16.
- ^ "Indonesia understands China's adoption of Anti-Secession Law: spokeswoman". People's Daily Online. Archived from the original on 2005-04-08. Retrieved 2005-03-16.
- ^ "Cambodia backs China's Anti-Secession Law". People's Daily Online. Archived from the original on 2005-04-08. Retrieved 2005-03-16.
- ^ "Nepali gov't supports China's Anti-Secession Law". People's Daily Online. Archived from the original on 2005-04-08. Retrieved 2005-03-18.
- ^ "Syria supports China's anti-secession law". People's Daily Online. Archived from the original on 2005-03-18. Retrieved 2005-03-16.
- ^ a b c d "Int'l community supports China's adoption of anti-secession law". People's Daily Online. Archived from the original on 2021-07-13. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
- ^ "Ethiopia's parliament backs China's anti-secession law". People's Daily Online. Archived from the original on 2005-03-18. Retrieved 2005-03-16.
External links
- Report of Wen Jiabao on drafting and passing the law
- BBC News: China to enact anti-secession law (2004-12-19); BBC News: Taiwanese protest at China bill (2005-02-28); BBC News: China unveils controversial law; also: China unveils controversial law, Excerpts: China's Anti-Secession Bill, China votes for Taiwan force law, Taiwan blasts China 'provocation' (all BBC)
- Taiwan News: Reaction in Taiwan
- Full text of the anti-secession law in English
- Wikinews:Hundreds of thousands protest anti-secession law in Taiwan
- People's Daily: Anti-secession Law will not be applied in Hong Kong and Macau (in Traditional Chinese)
- Xinhua: Anti-secession Law will not be applied in Hong Kong and Macau (in Simplified Chinese)
- Legal Malware: Hong Kong’s National Anthem Ordinance by Kevin Carrico for Hong Kong Watch.