{JURIST] Taiwanese leaders have condemned the proposed Chinese "anti-secession" law outlined Tuesday [JURIST report] at a meeting of the National People's Congress [government website] in Beijing. The law, the full draft of which has still not been made public, endorses "non-peaceful means" of reunification in the event that peaceful processes fail. Taiwan Vice President Annette Lu [official profile] said that the Chinese were trying to sabotage the status quo in the Taiwan Strait in contravention of international law on the peaceful resolution of disputes, and urged international pressure to prevent China from passing the bill, which is expected to be approved Monday. Taiwanese Premier Frank Hsieh indicated that if China passed any law posing an immediate danger to Taiwan, he would support amending the pre-1949 Taiwanese Constitution to counter the proposed legislation, a suggestion understood to mean that Taiwan might formally define inself as an entity independent of China, rather than part of it (the existing constitution, originally adopted when China was controlled by Nationalist forces now limited to Taiwan, claims sovereignty over the Chinese mainland and Mongolia, as well as Taiwan itself). The Taipei Times has more. The Mainland Affairs Council [official website] of the Taiwanese cabinet has now released an official statement on the Chinese anti-secession law. Meanwhile, American officials speaking Tuesday called the law "unhelpful", with the State Department calling it "counterproductive" and recommending reconsideration. The United States has traditionally supported the Taiwan regime, even after recognizing the mainland Communist Chinese government in 1979. AFP has more on the US reaction.