World reacts to China's new anti-secession law

Criticism of [the new law] by the government of President Chen Shui-bian echoed across this self-governing island's political spectrum, as several senior opposition figures released a letter protesting the action and pro-independence demonstrators burned a Chinese flag and began a hunger strike outside Taiwan's legislature.

The Post also reports that Taiwan on Monday denounced the law as an act of aggression and suspended talks to allow additional charter flights to the mainland.

"The two sides had reached a landmark agreement allowing nonstop charter passenger flights between the mainland and Taiwan during last month's Lunar New Year holidays," reports the Post ... "but [Joseph] Wu, the cabinet minister [responsible for formulating policies toward the mainland], dismissed the flights as 'petty things' in light of the new anti-secession law, which he said provided a 'blank check' for China's military 'to use any measure to annex Taiwan.'"

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The Bush administration said adoption of the law was "unfortunate."

"We oppose any attempts to determine the future of Taiwan by anything other than peaceful means. ... this is not helpful," said Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary.

China's move has sparked statements from regional powers.

The Associated Press reports that an outbreak of hostilities between Taiwan and China "could pin top US allies in the area such as Japan and Australia between treaty obligations to Washington and reluctance to alienate China, which is assuming a growing political and economic role in the region."

"I want the two sides to work hard toward a peaceful solution, so there will not be any negative impact," said Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said: "We would be bound to consult with the Americans and the ANZUS treaty could be invoked." "But," he added, "that's a very different thing from saying we would make a decision to go to war." The ANZUS treaty is a security pact between New Zealand, Australia, and the US signed in 1951.

But, not all countries in the broader region are worried. China's long-time ally Pakistan fully supported the move in a statement from its foreign ministry: "Pakistan appreciates and fully supports efforts made by Chinese government for reunification of Taiwan to the motherland and considers the recently passed anti-secession law as part of these efforts."

Russia on Monday reaffirmed its opposition to independence for Taiwan and said it considered the question of Taiwan an internal matter for China. "The Russian side considers the Taiwan issues as China's domestic affair. We understand the reasons which made the Chinese National People's Congress pass this law," said the press and information department of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"The law outlines the key priority of the Chinese government - peaceful methods of the country's unification within the framework of the 'one state - two systems' policy and readiness to take maximum goodwill efforts for this purpose," the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed. Russia is a close ally of China's with strong bilateral arms trade and a separatist movement of their own to combat in Chechnya.

China's state-run news agency Xinhua appeared eager to trumpet that "the international community [has] expressed support for the newly passed anti-secession law in China and China's position on the Taiwan issue."

In addition to Pakistan, Russia, and Syria, Xinhua includes the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) in a list of those supporting its Taiwan policy.

The [AU] on Monday reiterated its one-China policy and expressed support for China's anti-secession law to prevent Taiwan's secession from China.

"The anti-secession law adopted today by China's National People's Congress is of vital importance," said AU Commission Chairperson Alpha Oumar Konare when meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia Lin Lin.

"China's stance to oppose secession and achieve national reunification is very correct," he said, adding that the new law would play a very important part in safeguarding China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and promoting China's future development.

The European Union (EU) reiterated in a statement its one-China policy and expressed its hope that the Taiwan issue can be solved through peaceful means.

"The EU will be worried if this passage of a law referring to the use of 'non-peaceful means' negated recent signs of rapprochement between the two sides," the statement said.

In another one of the ubiquitous Xinhua reports on international reactions to the anti-secession law, the news service lauds the French media's coverage of the law.

Mainstream French newspapers have given great and objective coverage to China's Anti-Secession Law, helping let people know that this is a law designated to safeguard peace across the Taiwan Strait rather than a war bill as distortedly alleged by some Western media.

Meanwhile, EU Business cites analysts as saying that "Beijing's toughening line on Taiwan gives ammunition to the United States in its bid to stop the European Union lifting its arms embargo on China." The report points out that US President Bush used last month's European tour to "put on record his opposition to a lifting of the embargo," which was enacted in 1989.

"The EU sees the ban, imposed after the bloody crackdown on Tiananmen Square demonstrators in 1989, as an obstacle to better ties with Beijing and expects to lift it by the end of June," reports Reuters.

Voice of America reports that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is "expected to raise the Bush administration's concerns over the [anti-secession] law when she visits China next week."

On Sunday, Dr. Rice told ABC's This Week: "We have said to both parties that this is not helpful to have unilateral steps that raise tensions."

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