The president of Taiwan, Lai Ching-testated on Monday that China “has no right to punish” Taiwanese for their views or advocacy, after Beijing warned that supporters “staunch” of the island’s independence could face the death penalty.
China claims democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and has refused to rule out using force to bring the island under its control.
Beijing has stepped up pressure on Taipei in recent years and held military exercises around the self-ruled island days after Lai’s inauguration last month.
On Friday, Beijing published new judicial guidelines that included the death penalty for “particularly serious” cases involving “staunch” supporters of Taiwanese independence, state media reported.
When asked to comment on the guidelines, Lai said: “I want to emphasize that democracy is not the source of crime. “Autocracy is the crime.”
“China has no right to punish the people of Taiwan just for what they stand for. “China has no right to cross-border persecute Taiwanese.”
The United States also criticized the guidelines from Beijing, officially the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
“We strongly condemn the escalatory and destabilizing language and actions of PRC officials,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
“We continue to ask for moderation and that the status quo not be unilaterally modified,” he declared.
Lai warned that relations between the two sides will become “increasingly distant” if China does not “face up to the existence of the Republic of China (Taiwan’s official name), and conduct exchanges and dialogues with the government legitimately and democratically.” elected from Taiwan.
“This is the right way to improve the well-being of people on both sides” of the Taiwan Strait, he said.
Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party has long claimed Taiwanese sovereignty, and Beijing has not maintained top-level communications with Taipei since 2016, when his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen came to power.
China has branded Lai a “dangerous separatist” and denounced his inauguration speech as a “confession of Taiwanese independence.”
During that speech, Lai expressed openness to resuming dialogue with Beijing, calling on both sides to develop exchanges.
However, China appears to have rejected these proposals.
It continues to maintain a near-daily presence of warships and aircraft around the island, with Taiwan’s military saying Monday that 23 Chinese warplanes and seven warships had been detected in the past 24 hours.
(With information from AFP)
