The president of Taiwan, Lai Ching-te, stated 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 “dietal” defenders of Taiwanese independence.
“I want to emphasize that democracy is not a crime; it is autocracy that is the real evil. China has no right to sanction Taiwanese just for their positions. What’s more, China has no right to pursue the rights of Taiwanese beyond the borders”, Lai responded when asked about the Chinese measure at a press conference at the presidential office in Taipei.
“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,” the president added.
China claims that Taiwan is part of its territory and does not rule out the use of force to regain control of the island.
