Reaction
The ROC President Chen Shui-bian has expressed serious concerns about this proposal, and has expressed doubts that the Taiwanese public would find it acceptable. Chen also pointed out that the law being proposed is mostly intended as a measure to legitimize the PRC's military threats against the ROC. Furthermore, the proposed law would incriminate anyone holding opinions other than those supporting PRC policy on the question of reunification. Under the law dissidents would be prosecuted under charges of treason, retroactively effective up to 100 years, raising serious questions about freedom of speech and civil liberties. Chen stated that the law would only serve to increase the feelings of animosity of the Taiwanese people towards the PRC and increase tensions.
It is worth noting that the PRC's "one country, two systems" policy has been shown to be approved by less than 10% of Taiwan residents in multiple recent opinion polls. Moreover, many people also questioned how a proposed PRC law could be applied onto a territory over which the PRC does not have jurisdiction. Even though few states formally recognize the ROC as an independent country, most prefer to remain ambiguous over the matter. The Political status of Taiwan is still an ongoing multilateral dispute.
It has been unclear as to the degree to which this law is or was ever taken seriously by PRC authorities. The law was proposed by an individual without any governmental authority, and no formal action on the law has ever been taken by the National People's Congress. After summer 2004, references to the proposed law on both sides of the straits became rare, leading many to conclude that it was released by the PRC mainly to gauge public opinion. Shortly after this proposal, the PRC enacted the Anti-Secession Law.
Read more about this topic: Proposed National Unification Promotion Law
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