Anti-Secession Law

The Anti-Secession Law (simplified Chinese: 反分裂国家法; traditional Chinese: 反分裂國家法; pinyin: Fǎn-Fēnliè Guójiā Fǎ) is a law of the People's Republic of China (PRC), passed by the third conference of the 10th National People's Congress. It was ratified on March 14, 2005, and went into effect immediately. President Hu Jintao promulgated the law with Presidential Decree No. 34. Although the law, at ten articles, is relatively short, it was met with much controversy because it formalized the long-standing policy of the PRC to use "non-peaceful means" against the "Taiwan independence movement" in the event of a declaration of independence.

Taiwan was formally incorporated into the Qing Dynasty in 1683. It was then ceded by China to Japan in perpetuity in the Treaty of Shimonoseki of 1895. At the end of World War II, it was then surrendered by Japan in 1945 to the Kuomintang (KMT) Administration of the Republic of China. After the declaration of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Taiwan and some neighbouring islands continued to be controlled by Republic of China forces. In its official view, the People's Republic of China (PRC) government considers Taiwan to be a province of China. According to the PRC, it is the sole legitimate government of China, and thus should also rule Taiwan. According to the PRC argument, the government of the Republic of China ceased to represent the sovereignty of China when it lost control of the Chinese mainland between 1949 and 1950. Thus, the PRC argues, the PRC succeeded to the sovereignty of China in 1949-1950, including that over Taiwan, although Taiwan continued to be under the administration of the old Republic of China government.

...
Wikipedia