China’s addition of a new section on so-called “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists” on its Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) Web site has created “more obstacles and harm in cross-strait interactions,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday.
Such a move hinders exchanges and communication between people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and does not contribute to promoting positive exchanges, MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said.
The new section, which was set up on Wednesday, lists 10 “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists” that the TAO announced in 2021 and 2022, including Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) and National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮).
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
Previous TAO statements and legal documents about Taiwanese independence, such as a new set of guidelines announced on June 21 targeting “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” are also included in the new section, which features a mailbox for reporting “crimes” and providing evidence against people on the list and other independence advocates.
The guidelines allow courts in China to try “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists” in absentia, with those convicted of inciting “secession” who also cause “grave harm to the state and the [Chinese] people” potentially being sentenced to death, a report by Xinhua news agency said.
Beijing’s latest move has sparked criticism in Taiwan, drawing condemnation from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party, and prompting the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to issue a statement that the move was tantamount to inciting mutual attacks between people on both sides of the Strait.
On Thursday, TAO spokesperson Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮), in a news release, accused DPP authorities of deliberately confusing the majority of Taiwanese with a minority of “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists” and attempting to “drag innocent people into supporting ‘Taiwan independence.’”
In response, Liang said the new section could lead to negative consequences such as encouraging people to report others, citing examples where people were reported not because they support Taiwanese independence, but because of industry competition, personal grudges or differences in opinions.
“If such a trend of encouraging reporting takes hold, it could lead to many people being inexplicably caught up in it,” he added.
Although Chinese authorities have repeatedly claimed that only a small number of people are targeted, that would not be the case if the trend takes hold, Liang said.
Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致), director of Taiwan Thinktank’s China Research Center, said that China’s aim was to make an example of the 10 people on its list to emphasize that it is targeting only “die-hard” independence activists for punishment and reduce concern among ordinary Taiwanese that they would also be affected.
Setting up the new section also demonstrates that action has been taken following the issuance of the new guidelines, he added.
By setting up a mailbox to report those separatists, the Chinese authorities are attempting to enumerate or create conditions that can be defined as supporting Taiwanese independence, he said.
Institute for National Policy Research director Wang Hung-jen (王宏仁) said that the measure is an extension of China’s legal battle with Taiwan, with the goal of instilling fear among Taiwanese to make them more amenable to accepting conditions proposed by Beijing.
China has adopted a more lenient approach toward the general population “to make ordinary Taiwanese feel positively about China while intimidating Taiwanese independence advocates,” he added.
Regarding the mailbox for reporting separatists, Wang said that it is part of China’s strategy to monitor its society, which it has expanded to apply to “die-hard Taiwanese independence advocates.”
CHIP WAR: The new restrictions are expected to cut off China’s access to Taiwan’s technologies, materials and equipment essential to building AI semiconductors Taiwan has blacklisted Huawei Technologies Co (華為) and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC, 中芯), dealing another major blow to the two companies spearheading China’s efforts to develop cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) chip technologies. The Ministry of Economic Affairs’ International Trade Administration has included Huawei, SMIC and several of their subsidiaries in an update of its so-called strategic high-tech commodities entity list, the latest version on its Web site showed on Saturday. It did not publicly announce the change. Other entities on the list include organizations such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda, as well as companies in China, Iran and elsewhere. Local companies need
CRITICISM: It is generally accepted that the Straits Forum is a CCP ‘united front’ platform, and anyone attending should maintain Taiwan’s dignity, the council said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it deeply regrets that former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) echoed the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “one China” principle and “united front” tactics by telling the Straits Forum that Taiwanese yearn for both sides of the Taiwan Strait to move toward “peace” and “integration.” The 17th annual Straits Forum yesterday opened in Xiamen, China, and while the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) local government heads were absent for the first time in 17 years, Ma attended the forum as “former KMT chairperson” and met with Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧). Wang
CROSS-STRAIT: The MAC said it barred the Chinese officials from attending an event, because they failed to provide guarantees that Taiwan would be treated with respect The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Friday night defended its decision to bar Chinese officials and tourism representatives from attending a tourism event in Taipei next month, citing the unsafe conditions for Taiwanese in China. The Taipei International Summer Travel Expo, organized by the Taiwan Tourism Exchange Association, is to run from July 18 to 21. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) on Friday said that representatives from China’s travel industry were excluded from the expo. The Democratic Progressive Party government is obstructing cross-strait tourism exchange in a vain attempt to ignore the mainstream support for peaceful development
ELITE UNIT: President William Lai yesterday praised the National Police Agency’s Special Operations Group after watching it go through assault training and hostage rescue drills The US Navy regularly conducts global war games to develop deterrence strategies against a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, aimed at making the nation “a very difficult target to take,” US Acting Chief of Naval Operations James Kilby said on Wednesday. Testifying before the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, Kilby said the navy has studied the issue extensively, including routine simulations at the Naval War College. The navy is focused on five key areas: long-range strike capabilities; countering China’s command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting; terminal ship defense; contested logistics; and nontraditional maritime denial tactics, Kilby
RSS