China’s unilateral implementation of the “Anti-Secession” Law showed a failure to recognize reality and respect Taiwanese’s right to choice, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in a press release on Friday, following a Chinese statement marking the 10th anniversary of the act’s promulgation on March 14, 2005.
However, President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration did not call on the Chinese government to revoke the law, which authorizes the use of force against Taiwan, as it had done several times in the past.
One prominent example was the speech delivered by then-MAC minister Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) in Washington in 2010, when she said the law should be repealed.
It was followed by a statement by the council’s spokesperson at the time, Liu Te-hsun (劉德勳), in Taipei, who described the law as “unnecessary” in the development of cross-strait relations.
Asked how Friday’s statement differed from those in the past, a council official who requested anonymity yesterday said that the government’s position against the “Anti-Secession” Law “has already been clearly and repeatedly stated many times before.”
“Mainstream public opinion in Taiwan has reacted unfavorably toward the law. Employing non-peaceful means to resolve cross-strait issues is unacceptable to the government,” the official said.
While the law claims to promote peaceful unification, it provides a legal basis, from the Chinese perspective, to rein in Taiwanese independence and facilitate Taiwan’s annexation through the use of military force.
“In the event that the ‘Taiwan independence’ secessionist forces should act under any name or by any means to cause the fact of Taiwan’s secession from China, or that major incidents entailing Taiwan’s secession from China should occur or that possibilities for a peaceful reunification should be completely exhausted, the state shall employ non-peaceful means and other necessary measures to protect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” it says.
In the press release, the council reiterated that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent sovereign country, and that the Ma government has adopted a policy of “no unification, no independence and no use of force” under the ROC Constitution to maintain the “status quo” on cross-strait relations.
The council added that the policy represents mainstream public opinion in Taiwan and serves as the basis to promote the development of peaceful and stable cross-strait relations.
On Friday, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijung (張志軍) wrote a 3,000-word op-ed in the People’s Daily, in which he vowed that unification would be achieved in accordance with China’s institutionalized policy toward Taiwan, which was formulated based on a set of legislation, including the People’s Republic of China Constitution and the “Anti-Secession” Law.
Since the passage of the “Anti-Secession” Law, cross-strait relations “have undergone historic and major changes,” Zhang said.
For example, the law has frustrated the intent of separatists advocating Taiwanese independence, guided cross-strait negotiations toward the direction of unification and expedited cross-strait economic integration following the implementation of direct air and sea transport and postal service, Zhang wrote.
Zhang held up what he said has been achieved in advancing cross-strait ties after the law went into effect as a model of China’s vision to bring “rule of law” in the country.
The enactment of the law sparked a series of demonstrations and criticism in Taiwan, including the anti-“Anti-Secession Law” protest jointly organized by the then-Democratic Progressive Party government and more than 500 civic organizations, with hundreds of thousands of people participating in the demonstration in Taipei.
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