The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) on Wednesday recommended that the US Congress urge China not to enact the "anti-secession" law, warning that passage of the law will "needlessly inflame the China-Taiwan situation."
The commission was established to report to Congress on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the US and China, and to provide recommendations to Congress for legislative and administration action.
It said the law would complicate the task of maintaining stability in the China-Taiwan relationship.
In a letter addressed to Ted Stevens, president pro tempore of the Senate, and J. Dennis Hastert, speaker of the House of Representatives, the commission noted the law would cause the significant US interest in maintaining the peaceful status quo in the region to be "adversely affected."
"For these reasons, we recommend the Congress strongly and publicly urge China's NPC [National People's Congress] not to enact this legislation," the commission said.
USCC members "are concerned that China's intent in enacting this law is to create a purported legal basis for it to take Taiwan by force if China determines Taiwan has taken steps toward independence," the letter said.
China's unilateral action is unlikely to have any practical effect pertaining to international law or policy, the commission said.
The principal impact of the legislation would be "to destabilize the already tenuous cross-strait balance by provoking Taiwanese reaction, inflaming Chinese nationalist sentiments, and limiting the political maneuvering room for China's leadership to take innovative steps that may lead to a lessening of cross-strait tensions," the commission added.
The law is likely to make it more difficult for the US to facilitate an active cross-strait dialogue that could promote the long-term, peaceful resolution of differences between China and Taiwan, it cautioned.
Meanwhile, as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is slated to travel to six Asian countries, including India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Japan, Korea and China from March 14 to 21, a US congressman suggested Rice arrange a visit to Taiwan at a hearing on Wednesday.
Representative John Culberson, a Texas Republican who visited Taiwan in December, described Taiwan as "a shining city on a hill" and recommended that Rice come to Taipei to show appreciation for Taiwan's democratic achievements.
Rice did not respond to Culberson's question.
It took director Chong Keat Aun (張吉安) nearly a decade to complete Snow in Midsummer (五月雪), a deft chronicle of Malaysia’s May 13 incident told through one woman’s search for her brother and father. Although only his second feature, it led the field at yesterday’s Golden Horse Awards with nine nominations. Chong said it had been a struggle to get people to share their memories of the intercommunal violence following the 1969 national election, known among the country’s ethnic Chinese community as “513.” “My father, for example, would shut the conversation down if my mother or grandma even mentioned the topic,” Chong said
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that a surge in respiratory illnesses in China has been caused by at least seven types of pathogens, and small children, elderly people and immunocompromised people should temporarily avoid unnecessary visits to China. The recent outbreak of respiratory illnesses in China is mainly in the north and among children, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said on Monday. Data released by the Chinese National Health Commission on Sunday showed that among children aged one to four, the main pathogens were influenza viruses and rhinoviruses, while among children aged five to 14, the main pathogens
A new poll of Taiwanese voters found the top opposition candidate for president jumping past the ruling party’s hopeful into the lead position ahead of January’s election — the latest twist in a drama-filled race. Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) had an approval rating of 31.9 percent versus 29.2 percent for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the poll released yesterday by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation showed. The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), ranked third with 23.6 percent, according to the survey conducted
A New Taipei City hotpot restaurant could be fined after a rat dropped from the ceiling and landed on a customer’s plate last week, the New Taipei City Department of Health said yesterday after conducting an inspection. A woman recently posted on the “I am a Banciao resident” (我是板橋人) social media group saying that she had been eating with a friend at Chien Tu Shabu Shabu Hotpot Restaurant’s Shuangshi B branch in Banciao District (板橋). “While still eating, a big rat suddenly dropped down from the ceiling, landing on a plate next to a hotpot,” she said. “Later on, a member of