Taiwanese authorities were quick to respond, stating that Beijing “has no legal jurisdiction over Taiwan.”
China has included in the list of crimes punishable by the death penalty the “particularly serious” cases of people tried as “staunch” supporters of Taiwan independencestate media have reported.
China and Taiwan live de facto separated since 1949when communist troops won the civil war on the continent and the nationalists remained on the island, which adopted a democratic regime since the 1990s.
Beijing has increased pressure for “reunification” in recent years and last month carried out military maneuvers around the islandafter the inauguration of the president Lai Ching-tewhom he considers a “dangerous separatist” who will bring “war and decline” to the territory.
The official Chinese news agency Xinhua has indicated that judicial and government authorities issued “guidelines on imposing criminal punishments on staunch ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists for carrying out or inciting secession.”
The report specifies that “the ringleaders” of independence attempts that “cause particularly serious damage to the State and the people” will from now on be subject to the death penalty.
Other prominent defenders of the separatist cause may be sentenced to sentences ranging from from 10 years to life imprisonment.
Taiwanese authorities were quick to respond, stating that Beijing “has no legal jurisdiction over Taiwan.”
“The actions of the Beijing authorities will only provoke confrontation between the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait (…) and do not lead to positive progress in cross-strait relations,” said the Mainland Affairs Council of the island in a statement.
