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
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
RSS