Background of China’s Planned Anti-Secession Law

Over the past decades China has continued to refuse to renounce the use of force against Taiwan. That refusal was highlighted again by China's announcement last December that it will enact its so-called "Anti-Secession Law" in early March. Once enacted, the law may be used to justify a military attack on Taiwan if Taiwan formally declares independence.

Coinciding with the release of the "Anti-Secession Law" news, China published a Defense Policy White Paper in which it threatened to "crush" Taiwan if the island declares independence, and in which it states that it is the "sacred responsibility" of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) army to stop Taiwan from "splitting the country."

The "Taiwan Relations Act,", a U.S. domestic law which has regulated the U.S.-Taiwan relationship since 1979, specifically states that the U.S. decision to establish diplomatic relations with China in 1979 rests upon the expectation that the future of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means; and that the U.S. considers any effort to determine the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful means a threat to the peace and security of the Western Pacific area and of grave concern to the U.S.

We ask that the United States and the rest of the international community strongly oppose China's Anti-Secession law and more assertively help create an environment in which the people of Taiwan will be able to exercise their right of self-determination through a democratic mechanism such as a referendum.

Nobody but the people of Taiwan has the right to determine the future of Taiwan!