China may be planning to use the "Anti-Secession" Law to arrest Taiwanese who have advocated independence for Taiwan, intelligence agencies have learned.
The Chinese-language Liberty Times, the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times, learned from intelligence sources that China, in an effort to curb the pro-independence movement, plans to add detailed clauses to the Anti-Secession Law which was enacted on March 14 last year.
While the Anti-Secession Law broadly stipulates that Beijing will use "non-peaceful means" if Taipei "moves toward independence," the new clauses will list penalties for Taiwanese nationals who advocate Taiwanese independence or engage in separatist activities, the report said.
The clauses would not be applied retroactively, the sources said. But if Taiwanese advocated independence after the enactment of the detailed clauses, they would face penalties or even imprisonment if they traveled to China, Hong Kong or Macau.
When asked whether he was aware of the development, National Security Council Secretary-General Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) said last night that it was highly possible that China could seek to do something of this nature.
"[The amendments to the Anti-Secession Law] are in the preparation stages right now. We are following developments closely," Chiou told the Liberty Times.
The intention behind the amendments appeared to be to restrict freedom of speech among Taiwanese businesspeople so as to suppress support for independence in the country, the sources said.
As China adopts a tougher approach to political issues, it was likely to adopt a softer attitude to economic issues, the sources said.
Beijing was probably planning to propose more preferential measures in order to attract Taiwanese businesspeople to invest in the Chinese market, thereby increasing Taiwan's dependence on China, they said.
However, according to senior officials who asked not to be identified, some Chinese leaders have recently threatened to impose economic sanctions against Taiwan, saying that the nation's economy was like a diabetes patient who could not live without "insulin" from China.
China had already gone so far as to study the effects of a potential "trade war" against Taiwan, they said.
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