[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 46 (Monday, April 18, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E678]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CHINA'S ``ANTI-SECESSION LAW''

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM FEENEY

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 18, 2005

  Mr. FEENEY. Mr. Speaker, on December 29 of last year, the Standing 
Committee of the Chinese National People's Congress took a highly 
provocative action when it voted to submit an ``Anti-Secession Law'' to 
the full Congress which convenes on March 5.
  The text of this proposed law was not made public, but there can be 
absolutely no doubt about its intent. It is intended to create in 
China's national law the legal justification for a military attack 
against Taiwan.
  The law would spell out a range of activities which, if taken by the 
Taiwanese people and their democratically elected leaders, would 
legally constitute secession. Many of these activities, such as 
Constitutional reform and popular referenda, are the mainstay of any 
democracy. Yet the Chinese would use them as a legal excuse for a 
military attack.
  We all know that Taiwan is caught in a very different bind. On the 
one hand it is a flourishing democracy, one of the most vibrant in 
Asia, with unfettered freedoms of speech, the press and assembly and 
intensely competitive free political parties.
  On the other hand it is claimed as sovereign territory by its 
gargantuan neighbor, the very antithesis of a free and open democratic 
society! And this neighbor regularly threatens to annex Taiwan by 
force.
  The United States, under the terms of the Taiwan Relations Act, which 
is the legal bedrock of our policy, insists that the future of Taiwan 
be determined by peaceful means. And we have demanded that no actions 
be taken by either Taiwan or the People's Republic of China, that 
endanger the tenuous peace and stability that now exists across the 
Taiwan Strait.
  Mr. Speaker, we call this situation, difficult as it is, the status 
quo. We have had, on occasion, to caution Taiwan about actions which 
might appear to challenge this status quo.
  Now the PRC, through belligerent and dangerous legislation, would 
substantially change the so-called status quo.
  There is still time for China to alter its course. It has seemed to 
change its normally shrill tone toward Taiwan in recent weeks. I urge 
the Chinese leadership to put this legislation aside, leave the status 
quo intact and open itself, instead, to meaningful dialogue and 
negotiations with the leaders of Taiwan.

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