China's government today said it would carefully review e-mailed tips it has received about Taiwan "separatist" activity, adding that "good people" have nothing to worry about.
Beijing has been stepping up its campaign against those it accuses of being "separatists", including in June threatening to execute "diehard separatists."
Photo: Reuters
Last month, it announced an e-mail address where people could report tips about the crimes committed by such people.
Asked at a routine news conference in Beijing how the new e-mail system was working, Chen Binhua (陳斌華), spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, reiterated that their measures targeted only a very small minority.
"After the establishment of the mailbox for reporting diehard Taiwan independence elements, people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait have responded with practical actions," he said.
This is a reflection of the "common aspirations" of people on either side of the Strait, Chen added.
"We will carefully verify and screen the clues we receive," he said. "We will never let a single Taiwan independence element off the hook, but we will never wrongly accuse good people either."
Taiwan's government has condemned China's new campaign, and warned against all but absolutely necessary travel to the country.
China says that is alarmist nonsense.
China has not placed President William Lai (賴清德) on its list of "hardcore separatists," unlike Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) and some others in his administration and party.
"Taiwan independence is a scourge, a dead end; it won't come to pass," Chen said, speaking of Lai's first 100 days in office.
Lai has repeatedly offered talks with Beijing, but been rebuffed, and also repeatedly warned of the danger Taiwan faces from its giant neighbor and the need to strengthen their defenses.
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