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China adopts Anti-Secession Law
An article carried by Daily Graphic, a newspaper in Ghana on March 17th, 2005
2005/03/19


On March 14th, 2005, the 3rd Session of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC) of China adopted the Anti-Secession Law after serious deliberation. Since the NPC Standing Committee, in compliance with the will of the Chinese people, started the legislative procedure to enact the legislation in December 2004, China have received broad-based understanding and support from the international community of our action to oppose the secessionist activities in the name of "Taiwan independence" and safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits and the Asia-Pacific region.

On March 4th, at this year's session of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, President Hu Jintao delivered an important speech on the Taiwan question, evoking extensive and enthusiastic responses from both home and abroad. The legislation of the Anti-Secession Law by China's NPC has a clear purpose, namely, to oppose and check Taiwan's secession from China by secessionists in the name of "Taiwan independence", promote peaceful national unification, maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits, preserve China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and safeguard the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation.

The provisions in this law have given full expression to our consistent position and proposition of our utmost efforts and maximum sincerity for the prospect of peaceful reunification, and at the same time they have demonstrated the common will of the entire Chinese people to safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Facts have shown that this is a law meant to bring about peaceful settlement of the Taiwan question and achieve peaceful reunification.

For years, the Chinese Government has made unremitting efforts to realize the peaceful reunification of the motherland. To solve the Taiwan question through peaceful means and realize peaceful national reunification serves the fundamental interests of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits as well as the whole Chinese nation, and conforms with the trend of peace and development of the present-day world. This law has clearly provided that "the state shall do its utmost with maximum sincerity to achieve a peaceful reunification". It has also defined efforts to encourage and promote personnel exchanges as well as economic and cultural interactions between the two sides facilitate the three direct links and protect the legitimate rights and interests of our Taiwan compatriots.

In recent years, the situation on the Taiwan Island has undergone significant and complex changes. The "Taiwan independence" secessionists have intensified their secessionist activities, causing serious impacts on the peaceful and stable development of cross-Straits relations. This has increasingly become the biggest obstacle to the growth of cross-Straits relations as well as the biggest immediate threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits. At present, some new positive factors have emerged in the cross-Straits relations that are helpful to check the secessionist activities by "Taiwan independence" forces, and there have been certain signs of relaxation of tension in the Straits. Nevertheless, the "Taiwan independence" forces have not stopped their secessionist activities and the root cause of tension is yet to be eliminated. In view of the immense destructiveness of the secessionist activities in the name of "Taiwan independence" to cross-Straits relations and the severe threat they pose to peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits and the Asia-Pacific region at large, the Anti-Secession Law has provided for taking non-peaceful means to stop Taiwan's secession from China by the "Taiwan independence" forces. It must be pointed out here that we are willing to strive for peaceful reunification through utmost efforts with maximum sincerity. Nevertheless, no sovereign state will tolerate secession. Using non-peaceful means to stop secession would be our last resort when all our efforts for a peaceful reunification should prove futile. We have enacted the law precisely to prevent unfortunate situation from happening between the two sides. Therefore, the Anti-Secession Law is of great importance to opposing and checking the reckless secessionist activities in the name of "Taiwan independence", and to maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in the Taiwan Straits and the Asia-Pacific region.

We will continue to adhere to the basic policy of "peaceful reunification and one country, two systems " and implement the eight-point proposal on the development of cross-Straits relations and the advancement of peaceful national reunification for the current stage. So long as there is a glimmer of hope for peaceful reunification, we will exert our utmost to realize it. We will continue to work vigorously for the resumption of dialogue and negotiation between the two sides on the basis of the one China principle. We welcome efforts of any individual or political party in Taiwan towards the recognition of the one China principle. For any individual or political party, regardless of their past rhetoric and actions, we are willing to talk with them about any issue as long as they recognize the 1992 consensus that upholds the one China principle. We will continue to promote economic and cultural exchanges and the "three direct links" between people across the Straits. We will exert our utmost effort to do whatever is conducive to the Taiwan compatriots, to closer cross-Straits exchanges, to peace in the Taiwan Straits and to peaceful reunification of the motherland. On the other hand, on the major question of principle concerning anti-secession, we will never hesitate, equivocate or make concession. Any question bearing on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity must be decided upon by the entire 1.3 billion Chinese people together. The Taiwan authorities must abandon their secessionist position and stop all secessionist activities in the name of "Taiwan independence". Only then can peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits be safeguarded.

 

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