Mick Hartley

From the BBC:

Hundreds of thousands of people are attending a mass protest in Taiwan against China’s anti-secession law passed earlier this month.

The law allows China, which sees Taiwan as a breakaway province, to use “non-peaceful” means to stop any move by the island towards independence.

Senior politicians urged their followers to join the protest.

The island’s government has been heartened by broad international criticism of China’s new legislation.

Joseph Wu, who heads Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, the body responsible for the island’s dealings with China, says it is an attempt to remind the rest of the world that Taiwan feels it is under threat.

“We also want to show to the Chinese side that we are angry over the Chinese action and we want to let the Chinese side know that the law has dealt a severe blow to the prospect of peaceful negotiations in between Taiwan and China,” Mr Wu said.