The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has warned that Beijing might target Taiwanese who explicitly do not support Taiwan’s unification with China.
China could invoke its newly passed Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress to carry out transnational repression against Taiwanese, the MAC said in a report to the legislature. The law, adopted on March 12 and set to take effect on July 1, promotes the use of Mandarin, accelerates economic integration, and requires loyalty to Beijing. Critics have warned that it advances forced assimilation and restricts minority cultures.
Beijing’s transnational repression tramples international norms, undermine healthy cross-strait interaction and have heightened international awareness of Beijing’s ambitions, the report said.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
The MAC said it would coordinate integrated efforts to counter such actions and safeguard the rights and interests of Taiwanese.
China continues to pursue a “dual-track strategy” of integration and pressure toward Taiwan, the MAC said. Beijing’s latest five-year plan emphasizes “deepening cross-strait integrated development” and institutionalizes policies designed to encourage Taiwanese in China to integrate, it added.
China’s plan highlights priorities of “stabilizing growth, promoting transformation and preventing risks,” with a stronger focus on domestic circulation.
“Chinese economic policy is increasingly state-led, and technological self-reliance has become a core industrial strategy,” the MAC said, adding “This reflects mounting structural pressures in China’s economy, financial system and social development, which increase the operational risks for Taiwanese businesses operating in China.”
The MAC criticized Beijing for using subsidies and other incentives to lure Taiwanese businesses, talent and capital into China’s industrial supply chains while creating the impression of flourishing cross-strait exchanges to advance its goal of promoting integration and eventual unification.
“China is currently grappling with numerous internal problems, compounded by economic weakness,” the MAC said, adding that rising social pressures and accumulated public grievances challenge governance and social stability.
Authorities would help Taiwanese businesses diversify their global presence while strengthening competitiveness, risk awareness and Taiwan’s economic resilience and autonomy, the council said.
The approach aligns with the government’s economic strategy of encouraging businesses to be “rooted in Taiwan while deploying globally,” it added.
“The government will closely monitor China’s internal and external developments and Beijing’s Taiwan policies, assess their potential impact on cross-strait relations, and respond prudently to safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” it added.
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