The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said a new Chinese law on ethnic unity could compel people to actively support unification with Taiwan or face legal consequences.
The Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, passed by China’s National People’s Congress on March 12 and set to take effect on July 1, would make support for unification a legal obligation, the council said in a social media post.
The law says that Chinese citizens “shall safeguard national sovereignty,” and cites Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) as saying that people must “consciously uphold national unity, national security and social stability.”
Photo courtesy of the Mainland Affairs Council
The law could provide Beijing with a legal basis to target Taiwanese people or businesses who do not take a pro-unification stance, the MAC said, describing it as a form of “long-arm” jurisdiction.
The council said it expects China to intensify efforts to counter pro-Taiwan independence views, promote unification narratives and expand transnational repression targeting Taiwanese.
China had committed 122 instances of cross-border repression involving Taiwan, affecting 103 people, companies or organizations as of March 13 the MAC said.
The council reiterated that Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other and that Beijing has no jurisdiction over Taiwan.
Any attempts at transnational repression against Taiwanese would have no legal effect in Taiwan, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) actions are meant to intimidate the public and interfere in Taiwan’s democracy.
The government would take all necessary measures to protect those targeted, the MAC said.
It also warned that people in Taiwan who assist or cooperate with the CCP could face legal consequences.
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