Beijing’s measures to encourage people to report so-called “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists” and other national security problems would affect Taiwanese business personnel and entertainers working in China the most, a Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) official said yesterday.
The measure could also be used by people to destroy their business rivals and others they have a personal vendetta with, they said.
The Hong Kong Police Force last month said that as of June, it had received more than 750,000 reports of national security problems since it launched a hotline on Nov. 5, 2020, the council wrote on Facebook on Saturday last week.
Photo: Screen grab from the Mainland Affairs Council’s Facebook page
As of March 8, more than 700,000 reports were received via the hotline, the council said
This showed that the number of national security reports increased by 50,000 within just four months, it added.
Of the 750,000 national security-related reports, about 10 to 20 percent were effective investigative leads that the Hong Kong police could follow, the council said, adding that it is only a matter of time for them to pursue and arrest individuals and crack down on organizations involved in these cases.
Meanwhile, the Taiwan Affairs Office has recently added a new “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists” section on its Web site and set up an electronic mailbox for people to report such people, the council said.
“Reporting on Taiwanese independence separatists could become popular in China,” it said.
The measure would create more obstacles to the positive development of cross-strait relations and hinder normal interactions between people in Taiwan and in China. It also would not help facilitate goodwill exchanges across the Taiwan Strait, the council said.
“We think that China should do more work that contributes to positive interactions with Taiwan,” it said.
A council official told the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) that some people might use it to falsely accuse their business competitors and others they have grudges against.
Such a policy would hurt Taiwanese business personnel and entertainers the most, the official said.
So far, no Taiwanese have been pursued or arrested by Chinese police in third countries since Beijing published the 22 new guidelines on June 21, which would allow its courts to try in absentia and potentially impose a death penalty for “diehard Taiwanese independence separatists,” the official said.
“Our assessment is that Beijing would not make any moves before the end of this year. Whether it would take further action afterward remains to be seen,” the official said.
“We would ask people to avoid going to China, Hong Kong and Macao for their own personal safety,” the official added.
Additional reporting by Chen Yu-fu
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
RSS