After Beijing announced new regulations to punish "separatism" which include lifelong accountability and the death penalty, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, changed to a smiling face at a press conference on June 29 and said, "The vast majority of Taiwan compatriots do not have to have any concerns when participating in cross-strait exchanges and cooperation, and traveling to and from the mainland. They can come with joy and leave with satisfaction." China's policy toward Taiwan, which requires both "peaceful reunification" and "punishing separatism" at the same time, has confused the outside world.
"No criminal prosecution for abandoning Taiwan independence" - Is China's attitude towards Taiwan becoming more relaxed?
According to Taiwan media "Shang Bao", although the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council has begun to promote "Taiwan integration" measures since the Taiwan presidential election, the political and legal departments, in order to show their performance, suddenly mobilized the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of State Security, and the Ministry of Justice to hold a joint press conference at the Taiwan Affairs Office on June 21 to announce "Opinions on punishing Taiwan independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession crimes in accordance with the law."
Since the Opinion came into effect the day after it was released, and since there was no statute of limitations on the accused, convictions could be made in absentia, and the maximum sentence was the death penalty, and other measures that did not conform to normal legal practices, it immediately caused a backlash in Taiwanese society after it was announced.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Kritenbrink also specifically pointed out that China's recently released "Opinion" was an "escalatory and destabilizing move" when attending a hearing of the Indo-Pacific Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday (June 27).
"We are deeply concerned... We are worried that China will then enforce these laws overseas," Kandal said.
Taking into account that the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council is still actively promoting cross-strait exchanges at the same time as the "Opinions" were announced, and that local governments are inviting young Taiwanese to "go and see" through the "on-site reception" model, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council announced on June 27 that due to the fact that there have been many cases of Taiwanese people being "illegally detained, detained, and interrogated" in China, and the announcement and implementation of the "Opinions", the travel warning to China, Hong Kong and Macao will be listed as "orange" from now on, and people are advised to avoid going there unless necessary.
The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council is dissatisfied with the Mainland Affairs Council's move. Zhu Fenglian emphasized at a press conference on the 29th that the DPP authorities' statements and actions "are political operations to slander the mainland and threaten and intimidate the people of Taiwan"; and pointed out that the relevant judicial documents "are not targeted at or involve the vast majority of Taiwan compatriots, but are targeted at a very small number of "Taiwan independence" diehards who have committed bad "independence" remarks and deeds and are engaged in rampant "independence" activities... Only by punishing "Taiwan independence" diehards and their separatist activities in accordance with the law can we maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and fundamentally safeguard the vital interests and well-being of the vast majority of Taiwan compatriots."
Taiwanese people feel helpless about China's military flights around Taiwan, economic sanctions, legal punishments for separatism, and the desire to promote exchanges starting in 2022. Previously, Taiwanese people also felt incomprehensible about China's passing of this "Opinion" when interviewed by this station. A first-year high school girl said, "We are not the same country, why should he care about us? We are different countries, and we don't need to care about what they say"; another first-year high school boy said, "Don't keep invading us, just keep harassing us, it's really annoying." A businessman named Chen pointed out, "Except for those pro-China people, all of Taiwan are pro-Taiwan independence... The two sides of the strait have become like this, and one person's thoughts alone will change the whole world."
Very informative!
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