new conditions for the use of force. In contrast, Taipei has argued that the law does change the status quo and gives the People's Liberation Army a "blank check" to attack Taiwan. Prior to the passage of the bill, a statement from Taipei's Mainland Affairs Council and a resolution overwhelmingly passed by the ROC legislature stated that the status quo is that the Republic of China is sovereign and independent. The statement and resolution were carefully worded to avoid disagreements between the pan-blue and pan-green coalition over whether the Republic of China has any residual sovereignty over Mainland China. After the law was passed, a Mainland Affairs Council official referred to Beijing's definition of "one China" in the PRC law as fiction. Reaction in mainland China Reaction within the PRC was mostly consistent. State media and the Beijing leadership all stood firmly behind the new law and vowed never to allow anyone, using any means, to "separate Taiwan from China", in any name. The National People's Congress voted unanimously in favor of the law, with two abstentions. In the run-up to the law's ratification, state media in the PRC accused those in Taiwan in favour of Taiwan independence of creating hostility to the new law and of confusing the Taiwanese into thinking that the law had hostile intent. Prior to passing the law, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) general secretary Hu Jintao in a speech outlined a four-point guideline to resolving the issue. Reaction in Hong Kong At the time the unification law was proposed by legal scholar Yu Yuanzhou, the press in Hong Kong expressed concern that it would lead to legislation by stealth of the anti-treason or anti-secession provision of the Basic Law Article 23 legislation in 2003. These concerns were addressed when a mainland China official stated explicitly the law would not be added to Annex III of the Basic Law, which means that it would not be applicable to Hong Kong. After the passage of the law in March 2005, there was very little reaction in Hong Kong and news of the law was far overshadowed by the resignation of Hong Kong's chief executive, Tung Chee-Hwa. In the 15 years since the law was passed, it has cast a long shadow over Hong Kong. Reaction in Taiwan In Taiwan, the passage of the law was condemned by officials and politicians from both the Pan-Green Coalition and the