Proposed National Unification Promotion Law

Proposed National Unification Promotion Law

The proposed National Unification Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China (simplified Chinese: 中华人民共和国国家统一促进法; traditional Chinese: 中華人民共和國國家統一促進法) is a document that appeared in early 2004 as a suggestion to create formal a legal basis for the People's Republic of China's reunification with Taiwan. It was authored by a Chinese scholar Yu Yuanzhou (余元州), a professor from the Jianghan University in Wuhan who does not have a formal governmental position. Although no formal legislative action has been taken on the document, it was widely discussed in China. The reactions to the proposed document was mixed, with some, mainly in Taiwan, saying it provided evidence of hostile intent on the part of the PRC, while others praising it for proposing flexible solutions to the intractable conflict.

This proposal has not been directly incorporated in the bill (which later passed into law). None of the policies (e.g. the federal policy, or a new currency, see below) appeared in the final, official anti-secession law of the PRC.

Although Taiwan was ceded to Japan in the treaty of Shimonoseki ratified in 1895 – then surrendered by Japan in 1945 to the Kuomintang Administration – the PRC government considers Taiwan to be the 23rd province of the People's Republic of China. The historical claim is based on the formal incorporation of Taiwan into the Qing empire in 1680. From the political perspective, according to the PRC argument, the government of the Republic of China ceased to be legitimate following its retreat to Taiwan in 1949, and thus all sovereignty and governmental authority in China was automatically transferred to the PRC, including that of Taiwan which was then under ROC administration. The official ROC line counters that it did not cease to exist in 1949 and has continued to function as a sovereign political entity on Taiwan to the present day, making the relation between the PRC and ROC similar to that between other states similarly partitioned (such as North Korea and South Korea). The PRC's position has been acknowledged by most other nations but not formally recognized, as most nations prefer to take an ambiguous approach on the issue. See Political status of Taiwan.

Since 1949, the PRC government has demanded that Taiwan unify under the PRC, and has reserved the right to use military force to compel Taiwan to do so if necessary. However, opinion polls conducted in Taiwan have indicated that there is very little support for unification on the PRC's terms, even among those who favor eventual unification, making peaceful unification unlikely for the foreseeable future. With the reelection of Chen Shui-bian to the ROC Presidency, and the growth of Taiwan independence sentiment, a new Taiwanese identity appears to be emerging on the island as opposed to identification with China. In 2008, the KMT regained both the presidency and the legislature with a pair of election victories over the DPP.

In a string of unsuccessful efforts to change Taiwanese public opinion, several propositions and leaks from PRC governmental organs expressed consideration for a law aiming to formalize the policy for Chinese reunification between mainland China and Taiwan under the authority of the PRC. This culminated in May 2004, when Premier Wen Jiabao pronounced to a group of Chinese expatriates in London that serious consideration of such a law would be taken. Several days later, Yu's suggestion (similar to a green paper) emerged.