HONOLULU -- "Unhelpful." That's how Washington described China's new antisecession law, which authorizes the use of "nonpeaceful means" if the opportunity for peaceful reunification with Taiwan becomes "completely exhausted." I beg to differ. As it turns out, the law has proven to be very helpful -- to everyone but Beijing, that is.
The law has turned a potential diplomatic embarrassment for President George W. Bush into a diplomatic victory. Earlier this year, the European Union seemed intent on lifting its arms-export embargo on China (in place since the 1989 Tiananmen tragedy), despite -- or perhaps because of -- strong vocal pressure from the White House and Congress.
The new law gave the Europeans a face-saving out. It "created quite a difficult political environment," lamented one proponent of lifting the ban. Others acknowledged that "the timeline has become more difficult."