The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned China for sentencing Taiwanese National Party cofounder Yang Chih-yuan (楊智淵) to nine years in prison for the crime of secession without an open trial or presenting substantial evidence.
“Both the government and Yang’s family refuse to accept such a ruling. We demand that Beijing disclose the verdict in writing immediately and explain the evidence used to support the ruling,” Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told reporters at a news conference.
The crime that Yang allegedly committed was living a life like the majority of Taiwanese, he said.
Photo: Chiu Shu-yu, Taipei Times
The purpose of the case is to frighten Taiwanese and for China to overreach its administrative authority in Taiwan, Liang said.
“The verdict has coincidentally proven that the 22 guidelines Beijing issued in July — allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death ‘Taiwan independence separatists’ — applies to all people in Taiwan,” Liang said.
“Any Taiwanese can be convicted as a ‘Taiwan independence separatist’ as long as Beijing wishes to,” he said
“While China uses a two-pronged strategy to lure Taiwanese to China, it has also used Internet celebrities and China sympathizers in Taiwan to amplify its appeals here. The purpose of these tactics is for Taiwanese to let their guard down,” he added.
Asked about Yang’s possible whereabouts, Liang said that he is likely in Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province, as he was on trial there, adding that the council would keep in close contact with Yang’s family.
Public records show that Yang did not return to Taiwan after leaving for China in January 2022.
In August of that year, a program on China Central Television showed that the Chinese Ministry of State Security officers in Wenzhou had summoned and questioned Yang after accusing him of having been engaged in “Taiwan independence” separatist activities for a long time and that he was suspected of endangering national security.
The Chinese Communists Party subsequently accused him of committing the crimes of secession and inciting secession for pushing for Taiwan’s independence.
The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday vowed to protest at the EVA Air Marathon on Sunday next week should EVA Airway Corp’s management continue to ignore the union’s petition to change rules on employees’ leave of absence system, after a flight attendant reportedly died after working on a long-haul flight while ill. The case has generated public discussion over whether taking personal or sick leave should affect a worker’s performance review. Several union members yesterday protested at the Legislative Yuan, holding white flowers and placards, while shouting: “Life is priceless; requesting leave is not a crime.” “The union is scheduled to meet with
‘UNITED FRONT’ RHETORIC: China’s TAO also plans to hold weekly, instead of biweekly, news conferences because it wants to control the cross-strait discourse, an expert said China’s plan to expand its single-entry visa-on-arrival service to Taiwanese would be of limited interest to Taiwanese and is a feeble attempt by Chinese administrators to demonstrate that they are doing something, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said the program aims to facilitate travel to China for Taiwanese compatriots, regardless of whether they are arriving via direct flights or are entering mainland China through Hong Kong, Macau or other countries, and they would be able to apply for a single-entry visa-on-arrival at all eligible entry points in China. The policy aims
Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan would issue a decision at 8pm on whether to cancel work and school tomorrow due to forecasted heavy rain, Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said today. Hsieh told reporters that absent some pressing reason, the four northern cities would announce the decision jointly at 8pm. Keelung is expected to receive between 300mm and 490mm of rain in the period from 2pm today through 2pm tomorrow, Central Weather Administration data showed. Keelung City Government regulations stipulate that school and work can be canceled if rain totals in mountainous or low-elevation areas are forecast to exceed 350mm in
EVA Airways president Sun Chia-ming (孫嘉明) and other senior executives yesterday bowed in apology over the death of a flight attendant, saying the company has begun improving its health-reporting, review and work coordination mechanisms. “We promise to handle this matter with the utmost responsibility to ensure safer and healthier working conditions for all EVA Air employees,” Sun said. The flight attendant, a woman surnamed Sun (孫), died on Friday last week of undisclosed causes shortly after returning from a work assignment in Milan, Italy, the airline said. Chinese-language media reported that the woman fell ill working on a Taipei-to-Milan flight on Sept. 22
RSS