Taipei, 27 (EFE).- This Thursday, Taiwan raised its travel alert for China and the semi-autonomous territories of Hong Kong and Macau to “orange level”, the second highest, shortly after Beijing announced new measures to punish supporters of the “independence” of the island, including the death penalty.
The spokesperson for the Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council – the body in charge of relations with China – Liang Wen-chieh, assured in a press conference that the provisions approved by Beijing represent “a serious threat to the personal security” of the Taiwanese. , who were urged not to travel to China, Hong Kong and Macau unless strictly necessary.
“If it is necessary to travel to these places, it is recommended to avoid discussing sensitive topics and issues, taking photographs of ports, airports or military sites, and carrying books on politics, history or religion,” Liang said.
The official stressed that in recent years there have been “quite a few cases” of Taiwanese citizens who were “illegally detained, detained or interrogated” when traveling to China, whose Government considers the island – autonomously governed since 1949 – as a “rebellious province.” ”.
China last week released a set of judicial guidelines aimed at punishing “Taiwan separatists,” including measures such as the death penalty and absentee trials for defendants.
According to Article 6 of that document, those who commit the crime of “dividing the State” can be sentenced to capital punishment if the crime causes “particularly serious harm” to the State and the people or if the circumstances are “particularly serious.” , without offering more details about such circumstances.
The guidelines also state that if defendants “voluntarily abandon” their stance, “cease their separatist activities” and “take steps to mitigate or undo the harm, or prevent the spread of harm,” they may see their cases dismissed.
The president of Taiwan, William Lai (Lai Ching-te), considered a “secessionist” and a “troublemaker” by the authorities in Beijing, stated last Monday that China “has no right to sanction the Taiwanese people for their convictions.” nor to persecute Taiwanese citizens beyond its borders.”
“According to China, not supporting unification is equivalent to being pro-independence. It doesn’t matter if you are a supporter of Taiwan, the Republic of China (official name of Taiwan) or the Republic of China in Taiwan, they are all considered independentists by China,” said the president, who reiterated his offer of dialogue to Beijing. suspended since the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) came to power in 2016. EFE
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