Adoption of the Anti-Secession Law

Background: From a "Unification Law" to Legislation

Cross-strait relations eased after the 1993 Koo-Wang Talks, but Lee Teng-hui's 1995 visit to the United States led to the Taiwan Strait crisis of summer 1995 to spring 1996. According to an article by Chang Ju-lun published on the website of Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense, after Lee put forward his "two-state theory" in July 1999, calls emerged on the mainland for a legislative response, and a "unification law" began to be discussed; after the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took power in Taiwan in 2000, the Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang and some NPC deputies submitted proposals for Taiwan-related legislation. On 10 May 2004, Premier Wen Jiabao, visiting Britain, responded to suggestions from overseas Chinese by saying such legislation would be seriously considered.

Beijing held that the Taiwan authorities were pursuing activities such as "rectifying Taiwan's name" and "de-sinicisation", and were trying to use "referendums" and "constitutional re-engineering" to give "Taiwan independence" a "legal" basis and change the fact that the mainland and Taiwan belong to one China. Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), by contrast, held that the Republic of China is a sovereign state, that the two sides are not subordinate to each other, and that Taiwan's future must be decided by its 23 million people.

The Legislative Process

On 17 December 2004 Beijing publicly confirmed that the law was being drafted, under the name Anti-Secession Law, and placed it on the agenda of the 13th session of the 10th NPC Standing Committee, held from 25 to 29 December. According to Wang Zhaoguo's later explanation, NPC Chairman Wu Bangguo chaired four forums during drafting to hear the views of provincial officials, legal and Taiwan-affairs experts, central government departments, and compatriots from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao and overseas Chinese, and Hu Jintao chaired a forum with leaders of the democratic parties and non-party figures. On 29 December the Standing Committee voted unanimously to submit the draft to the full NPC.

On 4 March 2005, at a joint session of CPPCC members from the Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang, the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League and the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots, Hu Jintao set out four points on cross-strait relations: never sway in adhering to the one-China principle, never give up efforts for peaceful reunification, never change the policy of placing hopes on the Taiwan people, and never compromise in opposing "Taiwan independence". On 8 March NPC Vice-Chairman Wang Zhaoguo explained the draft to the Third Session of the 10th NPC. On 10 March the NPC Law Committee proposed amendments based on deputies' views: in Article 8, "the conditions for peaceful reunification are completely lost" became "the possibilities ... are completely exhausted"; "no foreign forces may interfere" became "is subject to no interference by any foreign forces"; and the original Articles 8 and 9 were merged, leaving 10 articles. On the morning of 14 March the NPC adopted the law with 2,896 votes in favour and 2 abstentions, and President Hu Jintao signed Presidential Order No. 34 promulgating it the same day, with immediate effect.

Main Provisions

The law has ten articles. Article 2 states that "there is only one China in the world. Both the mainland and Taiwan belong to one China", wording taken from the report to the CPC's 16th National Congress; Article 3 calls the Taiwan question "one that is left over from China's civil war" and its resolution China's internal affair. Article 5 provides that after peaceful reunification "Taiwan may practise systems different from those on the mainland and enjoy a high degree of autonomy"; Article 6 lists measures such as encouraging personnel exchanges, economic cooperation and direct links in mail, transport and trade, educational and cultural exchanges, and joint efforts against crime; Article 7 lists matters the two sides may negotiate, including formally ending the state of hostility, the political status of the Taiwan authorities, and Taiwan's room for international activities commensurate with its status.

Article 8 drew the most attention: if "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces cause the fact of Taiwan's secession from China, if major incidents entailing secession occur, or if possibilities for peaceful reunification are completely exhausted, "the state shall employ non-peaceful means and other necessary measures", to be decided and executed by the State Council and the Central Military Commission, which must promptly report to the NPC Standing Committee. Article 9 requires the state in that event to do its utmost to protect the lives and property of Taiwan civilians and foreigners in Taiwan. In his explanation Wang Zhaoguo called non-peaceful means "a last resort" to be taken only "when all efforts for peaceful reunification prove futile".

Reactions

On 8 March, the day the main points of the draft were made public, Taiwan's MAC lodged its "strongest protest", accusing Beijing of trying to change the cross-strait status quo unilaterally and saying the people of Taiwan would never accept "one country, two systems"; on 12 March it issued another statement urging Beijing to drop the legislation. On 26 March the "326 Alliance for Democracy, Peace and the Protection of Taiwan", formed by the DPP and others, held a march in Taipei, with columns setting out from 10 points in the city to symbolise the law's 10 articles; Chen Shui-bian attended and led the crowd in singing but gave no speech. Organisers put the turnout at 1 million; Taipei police estimated about 240,000.

The US State Department said on 8 March that it had told Chinese officials the law "may be counterproductive". On 14 March spokesman Richard Boucher called its passage "unfortunate", saying it "does not serve the cause of peace and stability on the Taiwan Strait", reiterated US opposition to determining Taiwan's future by other than peaceful means, and urged both sides to pursue dialogue and avoid unilateral steps. The same day Wen Jiabao told a press conference that the law was "not a law of war but a law for the peaceful reunification of the country", adding that none of its three circumstances was something "we wish to see".

Afterwards

On 29 April 2005 Hu Jintao held talks in Beijing with Kuomintang Chairman Lien Chan, the first meeting between the two parties' top leaders since the 1945 Chongqing negotiations. On 21 June 2024 the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the ministries of public security, state security and justice jointly issued opinions, based on the Anti-Secession Law, the Criminal Law and the Criminal Procedure Law, on punishing diehard "Taiwan independence" separatists for secession, allowing such cases to be tried in absentia. In July 2024 Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research and the US Hudson Institute held a seminar in Taipei at which participants criticised the law as manufacturing a legal basis for unifying Taiwan by non-peaceful means. On 14 March 2025 Beijing held a symposium marking the law's 20th anniversary.