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US Congress may act too late, official warns

The author of a US congressional resolution condemning China's planned "anti-secession" law says he does not know whether the House of Representatives can act on his bill early enough to voice its opposition before Beijing approves the law over the coming week.

The law, which reportedly would legally authorize a Chinese attack against the nation if the Chinese leaders felt it was warranted, is widely expected to be approved early next week by the rubber-stamp National People's Congress, which opens on Saturday.

Representative Steve Chabot, a Republican who is a co-chair of Congress' Taiwan caucus, introduced a bill late last month urging the Bush administration to "strongly oppose" the planned anti-secession law and express its "grave concern" over prospects for enactment of the law.

At a press conference with the Taiwanese Washington press corps on Tuesday, Chabot said it would be a "grave mistake" for China to enact the legislation, saying it would "potentially upset stability and upset the balance in the region," putting "both things in jeopardy."

Conceding that neither he nor his colleagues have seen the text of the proposed law, which Beijing has kept a deep secret, Chabot said, nevertheless, that "we have a pretty good idea of what that language is going to say, and what the point is. What we have heard is very damaging for stability in the region," he told reporters.

The US administration has refused to voice its opposition to the anti-secession law, claiming it cannot do so until it sees the actual text. Beijing has not released the text.

Chabot conceded that he has not received any committment from House International Affairs Committee chairman Henry Hyde, nor from the House Republican leadership, about when his bill might be taken up by the committee or by the entire House.

He said he did not know about reported plans by the committee to take up the bill during a "mark up" meeting on Thursday, in which the committee would vote on various proposals.

Committee spokesman Sam Stratman told the Taipei Times that the date of the markup has not been set, and that the agenda must still be decided. He said the committee may decide on the agenda by today.

Chabot could try to sidestep the time-consuming committee process by a procedure that could bring the measure to the House floor on the condition that it receive at least a two-thirds majority vote. But that has not yet been decided, Chabot said.

The bill, which Chabot introduced on Feb. 17, just before a week-long congressional holiday, would urge Bush to direct "all appropriate United States Government officials to reflect the grave concern" over the anti-secession law to their Chinese counterparts.

It also calls on the administration to reaffirm its commitment to a peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues with the consent of the people of Taiwan, and to encourage dialogue between the two sides.

Chabot was asked about President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) pledge, during a videoconference with EU officials earlier in the day, not to change the name of the Republic of China.

"It's up to the people of Taiwan, as expressed through their leadership and the president and others in authority," to decide Taiwan's name, he said.

"Ultimately, what Taiwan calls itself should be determined by the people of Taiwan, and not by the United States, not by the PRC, not by the UN, not by anybody else," Chabot said.

Asked about Chen's speech earlier, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli was non-committal. He claimed that neither he nor the department had seen copies of Chen's speech.

"He has certainly made assurances regarding unilateral steps in the past. We have welcomed those assurances and we continue to put great store in them. But I don't have anything on these latest remarks," Ereli told reporters at his regular daily press briefing.
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