The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.
MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare.
Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.”
Photo: screen grab from the Legislative Yuan livestream
He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency, which said that Shen is under investigation by the Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau on allegations of “secession-related” criminal activities, including launching a civil defense organization called Kuma Academy.
The investigation is being carried out under the terms of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China and a set of judicial guidelines on how to penalize “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Xinhua report said.
The government on Thursday last week said that such actions by China are meant to “create the illusion of long-arm jurisdiction over Taiwan.”
Shen yesterday told Chiu that he cited his case not to draw attention to himself, but to Chinese tactics targeting civil servants that might soon be used to deal with Taiwanese in general.
Chiu said that China is increasing its suppression of Taiwan through a combination of lawfare and cognitive warfare, adding that both the government and the public should collectively condemn such moves that are intended to intimidate and divide Taiwan.
Many Taiwanese have been reported to be missing or interrogated by Chinese officials, as well as others with whom contact has been lost, with the number of Taiwanese detained by the Chinese government because of legal affairs rising to 178 so far this year from 55 last year.
“While political figures, military personnel or prosecutors might be more psychologically resilient to Chinese threats, ordinary citizens might be more vulnerable,” Chiu said.
He urged all sectors of society to recognize this, unite, and collectively resist and condemn China’s cross-border suppression.
The MAC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will report significant cases of Chinese cross-border suppression against Taiwan to the international community, he said.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said China has no judicial jurisdiction over Taiwan, making its claims over Taiwan baseless.
“International human rights or political organizations should know that China is attempting to impose long-arm jurisdiction over a neighboring nation, using fabricated charges to influence personal freedoms,” Cho said.
The global community should understand that this authoritarian state fails completely in terms of human rights, regardless of its economic or military power, he added.
Additional reporting by CNA
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