Now the only thing left is for Europe to start the arms a-flowin to China.
Well, as long as they make some profit I guess that's all that matters. And
hey, it's not like it's _their_ freedom thats going to be crushed by China's
military.
http://msnbc.msn.com/ID/7122250/
The Associated Press
Updated: 2:24 a.m. ET March 8, 2005
BEIJING - China unveiled a law on Tuesday authorizing military action
to stop rival Taiwan from pursuing formal independence, but said an attack
would be a last resort if peaceful means fail.
Taiwan immediately lambasted the legislation, calling it a pretext for
attack that "gives the (Chinese) military a blank check to invade Taiwan."
"Our government lodges strong protest against the vicious attempt and
brutal means ... to block Taiwanese from making their free choice," Taiwan's
Mainland Affairs Council, which handles the island's China policy, said in a
statement.
Sharp reaction from Taiwan
Chinese leaders say the law is meant to curb what they claim is an
effort by Taiwan's president to make the self-ruled island's independence
permanent. The legislation drew strong and immediate protest from Taiwan as
an attempt to dominate the island.
The proposed law, read out before China's figurehead parliament by one
of the body's leaders, doesn't give details of what developments might
trigger an attack on Taiwan. The two sides have been separated since 1949
but Beijing claims the self-ruled island as its own territory.
The communist mainland has threatened repeatedly to invade if Taiwan
tries to make its independence permanent, and the new law doesn't impose new
conditions or make new threats. But it would codify the legal steps required
before China would take military action.
"If possibilities for a peaceful reunification should be completely
exhausted, the state shall employ nonpeaceful means and other necessary
measures to protect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity," said
Wang Zhaoguo, a leader of the National People's Congress, as he read from
the law.
A leading member of Taiwan's parliament called on Chinese leaders not
to act rashly, saying they should "rein in the horse before the precipice."
"We will not accept any resolution to allow the Chinese communists to
unilaterally decide Taiwan's future," said Chen Chin-jun, a member of the
ruling Democratic Progressive Party. "We will reject China's annexation and
safeguard Taiwan's sovereignty and democracy."
Chinese defend right to 'territorial integrity'
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. Beijing worries that it might include a declaration of formal
independence.
"Every sovereign state has the right to use necessary means to defend
its sovereignty and territorial integrity," Wang said.
The United States has appealed to both sides to settle Taiwan's future
status peacefully and says it doesn't want to see either change the status
quo unilaterally. Washington is Taiwan's main arms supplier and could be
drawn into any conflict over the island.
A final vote on the law is scheduled for March 14. It is certain to
pass, because the NPC routinely approves all legislation already decided by
Communist Party leaders.
Wang repeated Chinese complaints that Taiwanese independence activists
are a "serious threat to peace and security in the Taiwan Straits and the
Asia-Pacific region as a whole."
The legislation lays out legal requirements for taking military
action, saying the Chinese Cabinet and the government's Central Military
Commission "are authorized to decide on and execute nonpeaceful means and
nonpeaceful measures."
Trade continues despite cool relations
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 $100 billion in the mainland and the two sides carry on
thriving indirect trade.
Until recently, China military was thought to be incapable of carrying
out an invasion across the 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait. But Beijing has
spent billions of dollars in recent years on buying Russian-made submarines,
destroyers and other high-tech weapons to extend the reach of the 2.5
million-member People's Liberation Army.
Chinese leaders have appealed repeatedly in recent months for Taiwan
to return to talks on unification. But they insist that Taiwanese leaders
must first declare that the two sides are "one China" - a condition that
Chen has rejected.
In an apparent attempt to calm Taiwanese public anxiety about the law,
Wang said it promises that Chinese military forces would take all possible
steps to protect Taiwanese civilians. He said the rights of Taiwanese on
China's mainland also would be protected.
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