China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday.
“China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail.
The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said.
Photo copied by Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats and legal pressure only exacerbate tensions and undermine cross-strait peace and stability,” the spokesperson said.
“The United States will continue to support Taiwan in the face of China’s provocative and irresponsible actions,” the spokesperson added.
The spokesperson’s remarks came after China’s Taiwan Affairs Office on Wednesday last week announced that it had launched a new section on its official Web site for reporting independence advocates.
The new section allows people to report “vile acts by those advocating ‘Taiwanese independence’ and their accomplices in persecuting Taiwanese compatriots,” Xinhua news agency reported.
Certain organizations, government officials and online influencers have acted as enforcers of “Taiwanese independence” and their accomplices, “abetting wrongdoing and facilitating aggression,” Xinhua quoted TAO spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) as saying.
Later on Wednesday, the TAO issued a news release saying that as of 5pm, it had received 323 e-mails reporting people for “vile acts,” such as “threatening to disband patriotic pro-unification groups and openly infringing on the legitimate rights of Chinese spouses in Taiwan.”
The people reported included Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳), several Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers, YouTubers Pa Chiung (八炯) and Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源), and United Microelectronics Corp founder Robert Tsao (曹興誠), the financial backer of nonprofit civil defense organization Kuma Academy.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday criticized the new reporting system, calling the move “a full-scale interference in Taiwan’s internal affairs.”
“It also proves that Taiwan must remain vigilant,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS