Taiwanese can visit China “without the slightest worry,” the Chinese government said, condemning Taiwan’s decision to raise its travel alert level after Beijing issued threatening measures targeting Taiwanese independence advocates.
Last week, Beijing published judicial guidelines on criminal punishments for supporters of Taiwanese independence, including the death penalty for “particularly serious” cases involving “diehard” advocates.
It vowed to pursue people it views as “Taiwan separatists” wherever they might be, though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
In response, the government on Thursday urged the public to avoid “unnecessary travel” to mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.
It also raised its travel warning for China to the second-highest “orange” level.
However, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) in a statement late on Friday said that the new judicial directives “are aimed solely at the very small number of supporters of ‘Taiwan independence,’ who are engaged in malicious acts and utterances.”
“The vast majority of Taiwan compatriots involved in cross-strait exchanges and cooperation do not need to have the slightest worry when they come to or leave mainland China,” she said.
“They can arrive in high spirits and leave fully satisfied with their stay,” she added.
Beijing has not conducted top-level communications with Taipei since 2016, when former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took office.
China has not hidden its dislike of President William Lai (賴清德), whom it views as a “separatist,” staging two days of war games after he took office last month and regularly sending fighter jets and warships to operate around Taiwan.
Lai rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims and says only Taiwanese can decide their future.
“The DPP authorities have fabricated excuses to deceive the people on the island” and “incite confrontation and opposition,” Zhu said.
Additional reporting by Reuters
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS