China says aggression against Taiwan a last resort
BEIJING, Tuesday, (Reuters) - China outlined an
anti-secession bill on Tuesday that allows military force to head off
any independence bid by Taiwan, legislation that has heightened tensions
in the Taiwan Strait.
While the bill has raised alarm bells in Taiwan,
analysts said language in the draft emphasising the use of
"non-peaceful" means as a last resort appeared designed to leave Beijing
alternatives to war such as blockades or sanctions.
Beijing has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since their
split at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949 and threatened to
attack the democratic island of 23 million if it formally declares
statehood.
China would use non-peaceful means should "major
incidents" entailing Taiwan's secession from China occur, or should
possibilities for a peaceful reunification be completely exhausted, Wang
Zhaoguo, a vice-chairman of parliament, told the law-making body.
"Using non-peaceful means to stop secession in defence
of our sovereignty and territorial integrity would be our last resort
when all our efforts for a peaceful reunification should prove futile,"
Wang said, quoting from the bill.
"So long as there is a glimmer of hope for peaceful
reunification, we will exert our utmost to make it happen rather than
give it up," said Wang, who sits on the Communist Party's elite
24-member Politburo.
"Formulating this anti-secession law...is both necessary
and timely."
In Taipei, the bill sparked an expected angry response
from some but was seen by others as fairly conciliatory.
But Chen Yuchun, a China expert at Taiwan's private
Chinese Culture University, said: "'Non-peaceful means' is a lot more
flexible and could include economic sanctions, a blockade, and not
necessarily refer to military conflict.
"The choice of words is certainly more moderate," Chen
said.
Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said Taiwan was
China's business alone.
"This is a domestic matter, our internal affair," Li
told reporters on the sidelines of parliament.
"No foreign force has the right or qualification to
interfere," Li said. "We Chinese people have the wisdom, resolve,
ability and confidence to unite as one and protect our country's
sovereignty and territorial integrity."
Beside the stick, the bill also contained a carrot. It
aimed to encourage economic exchanges and cooperation and realise direct
trade and transport links between the two sides to their mutual benefit,
Wang said. |
