[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 21 (Tuesday, March 1, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H816]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      CHINA CONSIDERING IMPOSITION OF ANTI-SECESSION LAW ON TAIWAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Mike Rogers) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I want to bring an important bit 
of business to the House floor this evening and to Members of the U.S. 
House, and that is China's consideration of the anti-secession law that 
they are about to impose on Taiwan.
  The anti-secession law is a slap in the face to the recent progress 
that has been made across the strait in relations with Taiwan and is a 
bold move to threaten U.S. interests in the region.
  Last month, the two sides agreed on the very first nonstop commercial 
flight between China and Taiwan in more than 50 years. Now China 
appears to be laying the legal groundwork to legitimize material action 
against Taiwan.
  China is expected to adopt this proposed anti-secession law within 
this month. However, as Beijing does not allow its citizens or its 
media objective involvement in their government, the exact nature and 
time frame of this legislation is known only by a few within the 
Communist party leadership as China thought it could seek to approve 
this law under the radar of international scrutiny.
  As the United States begins to voice its concern over China's 
proposed anti-secession law, curiously enough, North Korea announces it 
has a nuclear weapons program. I do not view these two events as 
coincidental, given U.S. reliance on China to engage in diplomacy on 
North Korea's nuclear weapons.
  In recent history, there were two impediments to China taking over 
Taiwan militarily, the legality of the takeover and the technological 
ability to defeat Taiwan and its allies' defensive capabilities. The 
anti-secession law covers the first obstacle and China's effort to end 
the European Union's arms embargo would cover the second. This body has 
overwhelmingly approved a resolution condemning a lift of the arms 
embargo, which essentially would amount to a technology transfer.
  This, Mr. Speaker, is a serious issue, and Beijing should make no 
mistake that the United States Congress is paying attention. We are 
paying attention on the anti-secession law, we are paying attention on 
their military buildup and modernization, and we are paying attention 
to their economic growth, built on currency manipulation and the 
violation of intellectual property rights.

                              {time}  1945

  Mr. Speaker, it is time for this House and this body to stand tall 
and reach across the ocean and tell the Chinese we will be their 
friends, but they must be friends and participate in the rules of the 
rest of the Western world.

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