Advertisement
Supported by
Beijing has issued new regulations requiring the execution of “staunch” supporters of Taiwan independence, as hostilities over Taiwan independence intensify.
By Eva Sampson
On Thursday, Taiwan voiced its warning to China, urging its citizens not to do so unless necessary, after Beijing clarified possible sanctions (adding executions in excessive cases) for what it called “staunch supporters of Taiwan independence. ” .
China considers Taiwan, a democratically governed island of 23 million people about 100 miles off the mainland, to be its territory. He demanded that Taiwan finally agree to unification and had long denounced Taiwanese who opposed his island claims.
Last week, China stepped up the pressure by issuing legal rules detailing the steps it could take to punish supporters of Taiwanese autonomy. They come at a time when tensions are rising between Taiwan and China, subsidized through the United States. Last month, Taiwan swore in a new president, Lai Ching-te, who has pledged to maintain democracy on the island and is denounced through Beijing.
The new regulations applied in China allow the execution of what it describes as exceptionally serious cases of Taiwanese separatism; The text does not say precisely which movements may constitute a felony.
In response, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, which deals with mainland policy, said Beijing had “increased the threat to the protection of nationals traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau” by “clinging to its own position” on Taiwan.
The new president, Lai, criticized the new rules. China has no right to sanction Taiwanese citizens for their political criticism or to prosecute across borders,” he said on social media earlier this week. “Democracy is not a crime; Autocracy is what is in fact bad.
Lai called on China to participate in the debate and stopped short of calling for Taiwan independence. He says he needs to maintain the prestige quo, and for Taiwan to benefit from autonomous governance.
Beijing, however, denounced Lai, calling him a separatist and greeting his new government with incendiary rhetoric and a series of military exercises near the island.
Despite Beijing’s growing antagonism and its show of military force, many Taiwanese seem optimistic. A recent vote showed that the majority of the island’s United States residents would interfere in the event of a Chinese invasion, but some wonder if Washington and its own government have intervened unnecessarily. It worried Beijing.
Beijing has a history of detaining other people linked to Taiwan.
In 2023, a Chinese citizen living in Taiwan, Li Yanhe, who has published books critical of the Chinese Communist Party, was charged with crimes against national security. And in 2022, a democracy advocate, Li Ming-che, was released after serving a five-year criminal sentence. in China for the fees of overthrowing the government.
A generational vacuum has also emerged among Taiwanese, fraying ties with the mainland. A 2023 survey showed that people over 40 were more likely to make a stopover in China than their younger counterparts, who were more likely to make a stopover in Japan.
Advertisement