China is considering amending its “Anti-Secession” Law to specify more conditions under which it would invade Taiwan, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Tuesday.
The story, written by the Japanese daily’s Beijing correspondent, said that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) administration is considering revising the act, or creating a national unification act, to prevent US President Donald Trump’s administration from further intervening in Taiwan’s affairs.
Enacted in 2005, the “Anti-Secession” Law mandates that the Chinese government would take non-peaceful methods to defend the nation’s sovereignty and ensure that national territories remain intact should Taiwan secede from China, or if there is no possibility of a peaceful unification.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
One of the changes it is considering would be an explicit statement by President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration that Taiwan would not accept the “one China” principle as a condition for invasion, the report said.
Clarifying the conditions for the act is designed to increase the pressure on Taiwan, it said.
Sources claimed that China is also looking into drafting a national unification act.
Xi has been promoting a “grand resurgence of the Chinese nation [zhonghua minzu, 中華民族]” which is inalienable from unification, and China’s National Security Act, passed in 2015, stipulates that “it is the joint obligation of all Chinese citizens, including our compatriots in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, to uphold national sovereignty, seek unification and maintain the integrity of territorial claims,” they said.
One of the sources said that China has “arrived at the stage where it can now use the law to define its path for unification,” the report added.
Commenting on the report, Presidential Office spokesperson Alex Huang (黃重諺) said the government would continue to monitor developments in relation to the report.
The Mainland Affairs Council declined to comment on the report, but said it would continue to update its contingencies based on China’s Taiwan policy and its actions.
Resorting to non-peaceful actions or threats on cross-strait issues is not conducive to future relations, the council said, adding that the stable development of cross-strait relations, and thereby safeguarding the interests of people on both sides of the Strait, is the joint responsibility of the two sides.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson An Fongshan (安峰山) said Beijing would defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity through rule of law.
Additional Reporting by Chung Li-hua
CALL FOR PEACE: Czech President Petr Pavel raised concerns about China’s military maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait and its ‘unfriendly action’ in the South China Sea The leaders of three diplomatic allies — Guatemala, Paraguay and Palau — on Tuesday voiced support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN on the first day of the UN General Debate in New York. In his address during the 78th UN General Assembly, Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr urged the UN and all parties involved in cross-strait issues to exercise restraint and seek a peaceful resolution. “The well-being and prosperity of nations and their economies are intrinsically linked to global peace and stability,” he said. He also thanked partner nations such as Taiwan, Australia, Japan and the US for providing assistance
CROSS-STRAIT CONCERNS: At the same US Congress hearing, Mira Resnick said a US government shutdown could affect weapons sales and licenses to allies such as Taiwan A Chinese blockade of Taiwan would be a “monster risk” for Beijing and likely to fail, while a military invasion would be extremely difficult, senior Pentagon officials told the US Congress on Tuesday. Growing worries of a conflict come as China has ramped up military pressure on Taiwan, holding large-scale war games simulating a blockade on the nation, while conducting near-daily warplane incursions and sending Chinese vessels around its waters. US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner said a blockade would be “a monster risk for the PRC [People’s Republic of China].” “It would likely not succeed, and it
‘HARASSMENT’: A record 103 Chinese warplanes were detected in 24 hours, posing severe challenges to security in the Taiwan Strait and the region, the ministry said Taiwan yesterday told China to stop its “destructive unilateral actions” after more than 100 Chinese warplanes and nine navy ships were detected in areas around the nation. The Ministry of National Defense (MND) described the number of warplanes detected in 24 hours as a “recent high,” while Beijing has so far refrained from issuing any official comment on the sorties. “Between the morning of September 17th to 18th, the Ministry of National Defense had detected a total of 103 Chinese aircraft, which was a recent high and has posed severe challenges to the security across the Taiwan Strait and in the region,”
China would be making “a grave strategic mistake” if it tried to attack Taiwan, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley said in an interview with CNN that aired on Sunday. Asked by host Fareed Zakaria whether the US could repel a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, Milley said: “It is entirely possible.” Milley reiterated that the US still maintains the Taiwan Relations Act, and that it wants “a peaceful outcome between Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China, and whatever that is between those two peoples.” “Militarily, I think China would make a grave strategic mistake if they attempted to