| Taiwan's parliament has passed a clause in its controversial referendum bill which allows plebiscites to be held on the island's sovereignty in the event of an attack by China. The move, dubbed a "defensive referendum" clause, was passed by 108 votes to 82 on Thursday. Rattling sabres across the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, Beijing had said it would "make a strong response" if Taipei passes a referendum law without restrictions, although it stopped short of firing new threats, a week after a Chinese general spoke of possible war. Despite the warnings from China, MPs went further, voting 114 to 96 to approve a controversial clause in the referendum bill proposed by the opposition Kuomintang and the People First Party which would allow the constitution to be changed. The parliament was still debating other controversial clauses in the bill which would allow referenda to be held on even more contentious issues such as changing the country's name and flag. |