China has just upped the ante in its war of words — dire warnings, that is — to Tawain about declaring independence.
It has now put into law a warning that in effect says: “Declaring independence may be militarily dangerous to your health.” According to the Washingon Post:
China enacted a law Monday authorizing the use of force against Taiwan if it moves toward formal independence, codifying its long-standing threat to attack the island. The move could provoke a popular backlash in Taiwan and quickly unravel recent progress in cross-strait relations.
The National People’s Congress, the ruling Communist Party’s rubber-stamp parliament, approved the anti-secession law by a vote of 2,896 to 0, with two abstentions, on the last day of its annual session. The action defied U.S. appeals for restraint and strong protests by Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian as well as some of his political rivals.
Will it terrify Taiwan? Hardly, if anything it’s likely to increase tensions:
Chen has vowed a tough response, and mainland analysts have expressed concern that Taiwan’s pro-independence camp will use the law to rally public sentiment against Beijing and push for measures that could escalate tensions.
The vote came a day after President Hu Jintao was named chairman of the state military commission, replacing Jiang Zemin, the former president. Hu’s appointment relieved Jiang of his final post and appeared intended to highlight the new leader’s control of Taiwan policy and his resolve on the issue.
“We shall step up preparations for possible military struggle and enhance our capabilities to cope with crises, safeguard peace, prevent wars and win the wars, if any,” Hu said Sunday at a meeting of the Chinese military’s delegation at the parliament. He also said the army should “always place the task of defending national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity . . . above anything else.”
And it gives the government lots of leeway to do whatever it wishes, WHENEVER it wishes:
The legislation, as circulated in draft form last week, says the government “shall employ non-peaceful means and other necessary measures to protect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” but is not specific about what would trigger such action against Taiwan.
Instead, it uses language that leaves the Chinese leadership with the flexibility to judge when an attack would be necessary, slightly altering the wording used by the government in previous statements of its Taiwan policy. The law says China should use force if Taiwan secedes, if “major events” move the island toward secession or if “possibilities for peaceful reunification are completely exhausted.”
Has a ticking time bomb just been set?
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.