[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 14 (Thursday, February 10, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E224]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E224]]
                       CHINA'S ANTI-SECESSION LAW

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SHERROD BROWN

                                of ohio

                  in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 10, 2005

  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, the People's Republic of China is 
planning to enact an anti-secession law this March. This law will give 
China jurisdiction over Taiwan. It will give Chinese leaders the right 
to use force against Taiwan if China suspects secessionist activities 
in Taiwan. Predictably, Taiwan reacted to this proposed law with alarm. 
If Chinese leaders pass this law or persist in this effort, Taiwan will 
consider an anti-annexation law of its own as a proper response to 
China.
  This battle of laws is unfortunate since cross-strait relations have 
been improving recently. On January 15 of this year, China and Taiwan 
agreed to have direct charter flights during the Chinese New Year 
holidays. Both sides also agreed to continue to work toward restoring 
direct trade, transport and postal ties--the ``three links.'' Moreover, 
the economies of China and Taiwan have grown increasingly 
interdependent. Taiwanese businesses have invested $100 billion in 
China. As many as one million Taiwanese now live and work on the 
mainland.
  The latest controversy over China's proposed anti-secession law 
highlights once again the political division between China and Taiwan. 
China is seeking to unilaterally change the status quo in the Taiwan 
Strait and force its own style of government on the 23 million people 
of Taiwan. China has ignored Taiwan's contributions to China's strong 
economy and Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian's gestures of goodwill.
  China's latest move to enact the anti-secession law will not only 
destroy the goodwill between the peoples of Taiwan and China, it is 
also unnecessarily provocative and will escalate tension in the Taiwan 
Strait. The Taiwanese should not be expected to sit by and allow 
authoritarian Chinese government to mandate the annexation of 
democratic Taiwan. No freedom-loving people should be expected to do 
so.
  By unilaterally changing the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, China 
is also challenging America's will to stand behind the Taiwan Relations 
Act, which says unequivocally that it is the policy of the United 
States ``to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that 
would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the 
people of Taiwan.'' The Taiwan Relations Act also affirms one of the 
objectives of the United States as ``the preservation and enhancement 
of the human rights of all the people in Taiwan.''
  Mr. Speaker, it is my view that China's proposed anti-secession law 
is provocative and dangerous. It poses a grave threat to democracy, 
peace, and stability in the region.

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