Wen addresses press conference (full text)
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-03-15 02:11

CNN: The question I would ask is about the Anti-Secession Law. In the legislation you stated what you would call China's right to use non-peaceful means against Taiwan. Could you clarify what those means could be? And if there is a conflict, a broader conflict with the United States, could China build an army that could win any war it has to fight, as you stated in your address to the NPC?

Wen: First of all, let me explain again what kind of law the Anti-Secession Law is.

It is by no means promulgated against the people in Taiwan. It is to oppose and check Taiwan Independence forces. It is by no means a war bill, it is for peaceful reunification of the country. It is not aimed at changing the status quo in the Taiwan Straits, which is that both sides belong to one China. It is conducive to peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits.

Second, let me talk about what the status quo in the Taiwan Straits is, which is a very important question. There is only one China in the world. Although the mainland and Taiwan have not been reunified, the fact that there is only one China has never changed even in the slightest way. That is the status quo in the Taiwan Straits.

Third, there are three scenarios according to the law where non-peaceful means will be executed. These three scenarios are the last thing we wish to see. So long as there is a ray of hope, we will do our utmost to promote a peaceful reunification.

We have enacted this law to give expression of the will of the entire Chinese people, including the 23 million compatriots in Taiwan, their will to safeguard national unity and territorial integrity and oppose secession of Taiwan from the country.

If you care to read two anti-secession resolutions adopted in the United States around 1861, you will find that they are very similar to each other. In the United States, the civil war broke out soon after. But we here do not wish to see such a situation. In China, there is an ancient saying: "Even a foot of cloth can be stitched up; even a kilo of millet can be ground. How can two blood brothers not make up?"

The compatriots in Taiwan are our own brothers. We hope all the compatriots in Taiwan will understand the intention of the legislation. We also hope that all countries and people in the world who uphold the one-China principle and care for peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits will understand and support this law.

You also asked about the increase in China's military strength. Let me spend a few minutes on this. China pursues a defensive national defence policy. China's military strength, if compared to that of your country, especially in terms of military expenditure, is left far behind. I don't think I still have to cite any figures here.

In the recent hundred of years, China was subjected to bullying and humiliation. Yet till now our country has never sent a single soldier abroad to occupy an inch of foreign land.

Taiwan is completely China's internal affairs. It brooks no interference from any foreign country. We do not want foreign interference. Yet we are not afraid of any.

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