Taiwan’s government has urged citizens to travel to China only in cases of absolute necessity, after Beijing threatened to execute those it considers “staunch promoters of independence.” The spokesman for the Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council, Liang wen-chiehsaid the notice also applies to the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao.
During a press conference held today in Taipei, Liang clarified that the warning is not intended to be a retaliation against the Government of Beijing, but exclusively an initiative aimed at protecting the population. Chinese authorities on June 21 published a set of guidelines on imposing criminal sanctions on those considered by the government to be “staunch independents.”
Issued jointly by the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate and the Ministries of Public Security, State Security and Justice, they allow trial in absentia, with the maximum penalty being the death penalty. The guidelines detail a range of crimes, including promoting Taiwan’s entry into international organizations and suppressing groups, individuals and parties that promote “reunification.” An additional clause, which defines “other acts intended to separate Taiwan from China” as actionable, gives the guidelines a much broader interpretation. Beijing has taken legal action against Taiwanese officials in the past, including sanctions against current Taiwanese Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim, a former de facto ambassador to the United States.
China’s latest initiative was also strongly questioned by Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, who during a press conference in Taipei stressed that “Beijing has no right to sanction the Taiwanese people for their positions.” “Nor does it have the right to pursue the rights of the Taiwanese people across the border,” he added. “I also want to invite Beijing to address the existence of the Republic of China and to maintain exchanges and dialogues with the legitimate and democratically elected government of Taiwan,” said Lai, according to whom “democracy is not a crime, it is the autocracy is the real evil.” China, which considers Taiwan an “inalienable part” of its territory, has never hidden its antipathy towards Lai, considered a “stubborn promoter of independence.” Following the inauguration of the new Taiwanese president, which took place on May 20, the Chinese armed forces organized two days of military exercises on the island (May 23 and 24), with the stated objective of “punishing the separatists” and issue a warning to “external forces” accused of interfering in cross-Strait relations.
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