War talk between China, Taiwan

2005-03-08 16:57

Beijing - China put forward a law on Tuesday authorising an attack if Taiwan moves toward formal independence, ratcheting up pressure on the self-ruled island while warning other countries not to interfere. Taiwan denounced the legislation as a "blank check to invade" and announced war games aimed at repelling an attack.

The proposed anti-secession law, read out for the first time before the ceremonial National People's Congress, doesn't say what specific actions might invite a Chinese attack.

"If 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," Wang Zhaoguo, deputy chairman of the NPC's Standing Committee, told the nearly 3 000 NPC members gathered in the Great Hall of the People.

Beijing claims Taiwan, split from China since 1949, as part of its territory. The communist mainland repeatedly has threatened to invade if Taiwan tries to make its independence permanent, and the new law doesn't impose any new conditions or make new threats. But it lays out for the first time legal requirements for military action.

Building up weapons arsenal

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, which handles the island's China policy, said the law gives China's military "a blank check to invade Taiwan" and "exposed the Chinese communists' attempt to use force to annex Taiwan and to be a regional power."

The island's vice-president, Annette Lu, accused Beijing of violating international norms for peacefully resolving disputes, as Taipei prepared for an invasion.

Large-scale military exercises would be held from mid-April to August, with troops practicing knocking down Chinese missiles and fighting communist commandos, said Taiwan's Defence Ministry spokesperson Liu Chih-chien.

Mainland lawmakers immediately expressed support for the anti-secession measure, which is sure to be passed when they vote March 14. The NPC routinely approves all legislation already decided by Communist Party leaders.

"We must join hands and absolutely not allow Taiwan to separate from China," said Chang Houchun, a businessman and NPC member from southern China's Guangdong province.

Chinese officials say the law was prompted in part by Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian's plans for a referendum on a new constitution for the island that Beijing worries might include a declaration of independence.

China and Taiwan have no official ties and most direct travel and shipping between the two sides is banned. But Taiwanese companies have invested more than $100bn in the mainland and the two sides carry on thriving indirect trade.

In an apparent attempt to calm Taiwanese public anxiety, Wang said the law promises that Chinese military forces would try to avoid harming Taiwanese civilians. He said the rights of Taiwanese on China's mainland also would be protected.

- AP