China's proposed anti-secession law will establish a special court for handling cases of "separatist activity," while officials on both sides of the Taiwan Strait would be held to account if they do not act appropriately in opposing Taiwanese independence, Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday.
Wu said he had not seen a draft of the law, but sources which he refused to name had passed on to him the "fundamental principles that [China] have to follow in enacting the law."
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Wu said the bill would prohibit "secessionist activity" and stipulate punishment for offenders.
"[It will] define the status of Taiwan as ... a holy and inseparable part of the People's Republic of China," he said.
Wu said that offenders would be tried in a special court, and that Chinese government officials whose performance in curbing Taiwanese independence was found to be unsatisfactory, either by commission or omission, would also be legally responsible.
"[If] Taiwan's administration or military sectors do something that leads to war between the two sides, they will be charged with this kind of crime as well," he said.
Wu said the proposed law would give China license to define what constituted separatist activity and whether it was a crime.
"This will have serious implications and it's going to rock ... cross-strait relations," Wu said.
"I think in order to make sure what this crime is about they have to define what Taiwan independence is and ... the current definition of Taiwanese independence is quite broad," he said.
"Anything other than unification is going to be defined as independence and therefore anybody who speaks out in support of the Taiwan government might be charged with this kind of crime," he said.
"[Taipei] Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Ma, who was born in Hong Kong, was recently refused a visa there, apparently in retaliation for recent criticism of the proposed law.
Wu, who was joined by Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (陳唐山) and Vice Minister of National Defense Tsai Ming-hsien (蔡明憲), again called for international intervention.
They said that the international response to the bill so far had been inadequate.
Chen pointed to the words of concentration-camp survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, telling the foreign press yesterday that the Holocaust had occurred because "people chose neutrality."
"Ignorance and choosing to be neutral -- these are the two biggest problems," Chen said.
He said that the bill was clearly not a domestic matter because China had already discussed the matter with the US face-to-face.
When asked what the government hoped to see the international community do in response to China's actions, Wu said that, aside from popular censure, he hoped that governments would use whatever connections they had to get the message through to China.
Tsai's approach was more direct.
"I humbly ask the news media to reflect on what our people are thinking here," he told reporters.
"This is an urgent call to the international community to stop China before it is too late," Wu said.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese