The president of Taiwan, Lai Ching-te, stated on Monday that China “has no right to punish” the island’s population, after Beijing warned that it could apply the death penalty against defenders of Taiwanese independence.
China published new judicial guidelines on Friday that include the death penalty for “particularly serious” cases of “deadly” defenders of Taiwanese independence, state media reported.
Asked about these guidelines, Lai commented: “China has no right to punish the people of Taiwan for what they defend. China has no right to seek to indict the Taiwanese people.”
China claims that Taiwan is part of its territory and does not rule out the use of force to regain control of the island.
It has stepped up pressure on Taipei in recent years, holding military exercises around the island shortly after Lai came to power in May.
Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party has defended Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Beijing has not had high-level talks with Taipei since 2016, when former President Tsai Ing-wen, Lai’s predecessor, came to power.
China has called Lai a “dangerous separatist” and said his inaugural speech was a “confession of Taiwan’s independence.”
In that speech, Lai signaled an openness to resuming dialogue with Beijing and asked the two parties to carry out exchanges.
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AFP
