Reported about 1 year ago
Maintaining a tense standoff across the strait, the Chinese Communist Party unexpectedly issued new rules on punishing Taiwan independence on June 21, effective immediately. The new regulations allow for trials in absentia for suspects who are not present, with a statute of limitations of up to 20 years, and the most severe penalty for crimes of state division being the death penalty. The mainland affairs council spokesperson, Liang Wenjie, made it clear that the Beijing authorities have no legal jurisdiction over Taiwan and their laws do not apply to Taiwanese citizens. The MAC strongly condemned China for stirring up animosity between the people on both sides of the strait. The list of individuals implicated in Taiwan independence includes the Secretary-General of the National Security Council, Wu Zhaoxie, former Premier Su Tseng-chang, Vice President Hsiao Meiqin, Minister of National Defense Gu Lixiong, legislator Ker Chien-ming, former legislator Chen Jiaohua, pundits Huang Shicong and Li Zhenhao, among others. The Future Outlook Foundation and the Asia Free Democratic Alliance were also named for sanctions. Ker Chien-ming, the DPP caucus whip in the Legislative Yuan, stated, 'If they want you to know, they're not afraid. They want you to be scared and surrender.' Economic expert Huang Shicong stated, 'Without a doubt, it's a bit of constraining everyone's thoughts, indicating that the two systems across the strait are indeed different.' Additionally, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense announced the detection of 41 incidents of Chinese aircraft crossing the median line into the northern, southwestern, and eastern airspace, with 32 incursions over the past two days, creating a three-sided encirclement of Taiwan and causing heightened tensions between the two sides. Associate Professor Chen Shimin of the Political Science Department at National Taiwan University pointed out that 'For Xi Jinping or his supporters, they feel the need to take a hardline stance on Taiwan before the Third Plenum, to shift attention away from some of China's internal social and economic issues.' From President Lai Ching-te's one month in office to recent U.S. arms sales to Taiwan that have touched China's nerves, scholars speculate that China's Taiwan policy may be led by hawks, adopting more aggressive measures to distract from internal political and economic turmoil.
Source: YAHOO