Anti-secession bill gets long applause
15/3/2005 8:32
China's new anti-secession law, passed yesterday by the national
legislature in Beijing, was hailed as a "powerful legal guarantee for peaceful
national reunification" by lawmakers, government leaders and the general
public.
The National People's Congress ratified the 10-article law with 2,896
votes in favor, none against and two abstentions as lawmakers ended their
nine-and-a-half-day annual session in the Great Hall of the People.
The law
went into effect after President Hu Jintao signed a presidential order later in
the morning.
The NPC deputies applauded for nearly a minute following the
announcement of the vote total, which was broadcast live nationwide through
state television, radio and major news Websites.
Top legislator Wu Bangguo
said the overwhelming favorable vote symbolized the "common will and strong
resolve" of the entire Chinese people.
The anti-secession law was first put
on the NPC's legislative agenda in December partly in response to growing calls
for such legislation both from home and abroad.
The law provides for national
reunification through peaceful means and the use of non-peaceful means to check
Taiwan's secession from China as a last resort.
"The anti-secession law has
legalized the policy guidelines of central authorities on Taiwan and gives full
expression to China's consistent position on doing the utmost for a peaceful
reunification," said Wu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee.
At a news
conference held shortly after the close of the NPC session, Premier Wen Jiabao
strongly denied allegations that the measure was a "law of war," calling it a
law endorsing peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait instead.
The premier
added that the law does not target Taiwan compatriots but aims at opposing and
checking secessionist activities.
Though the law provides for "non-peaceful
means and other necessary measures" to stop Taiwan's secession under certain
circumstances, Wen said, the Chinese government is loathe to see such
circumstances occur.
"As long as there is a glimmer of hope for peaceful
reunification, we will exert our utmost to make it happen rather than give it
up," he stressed.
Throughout the country, members of the general public
greeted the passage of the law as a hopeful signal for an early peaceful
reunification of their nation.
"The law speaks our wishes from the bottom of
our hearts," said Li Xinming, a Beijing taxi driver who learned the news from
the radio. "It's necessary to clarify a bottom line for the secessionist forces
in Taiwan and let them know we will never compromise on any issue involving
national sovereignty or territorial integrity."
The law's enactment reflects
the "strategic insight and political wisdom" of the central authorities, said
Wang Hao, a student at Beijing University.
"History will remember this solemn
and exciting moment," said Liu Zhenze, a resident of Fuzhou, capital of
southeast China's Fujian Province, which lies opposite Taiwan.
"The law
issues a stern warning to the secessionists in Taiwan that anyone playing with
fire will get burned themselves," said the man, who has brothers and sisters on
both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Yeh Hui Te, president of the Shanghai Taiwan
Investors Association, stopped work to watch the TV broadcast of the NPC voting.
"The zero-opposition result was just what I expected," Yeh said.
"I
understand and support this law, which is mainly intended to safeguard peaceful
national reunification," said Yeh. "And I think the majority of the Taiwan
business people in Shanghai share my
opinion."
(Xinhua)
Xinhua
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