A view of the Taipei skyline at night with the iconic Taipei 101 skyscraper, the tallest building in Taiwan, in Taipei, on Dec. 25, 2022.Chiang Ying-ying
Taiwan’s envoy to Canada is warning that a recent threat by China that it would impose harsh sanctions including the death penalty on advocates of Taiwan independence also represents a risk for Canadians and other foreigners.
Harry Tseng, who represents the democratically governed island of 24 million in Canada, said these legal guidelines unveiled by Beijing last month represent an effort by China to frighten and intimidate those who would support Taiwan, regardless of where they live.
“The ramifications of this weaponization of domestic legislation are far reaching, posing threats not only to Taiwanese citizens but also to foreign nationals voicing support for Taiwan,” Mr. Tseng said in a statement.
The Chinese Communist Party, which seized power in China in 1949, has never ruled Taiwan, where nationalist forces retreated after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong more than 70 years ago. Chinese President Xi Jinping has not ruled out using force to seize Taiwan and has stepped up efforts to menace the island.
China on June 21 threatened to impose the death penalty in extreme cases for “diehard” Taiwan independence separatists, a ratcheting-up of pressure even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction over Taiwan. Beijing has made no secret of its dislike of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, who took office in May, saying he is a “separatist” and staged war games shortly after his inauguration.
The new guidelines issued by Beijing say China’s courts, prosecutors, public and state security bodies should “severely punish Taiwan independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession crimes in accordance with the law, and resolutely defend national sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity,” according to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency.
Mr. Tseng said this announcement represents a threat to free speech and represents Beijing’s efforts at “extraterritorial reach.”
“China’s flagrant legal maneuvers aim to create a worldwide psychological chilling effect, infringing on free speech in democratic societies,” Mr. Tseng said.
He said it’s important for democracies to condemn China’s “legal warfare” that represents an effort at foreign interference.
Canada is the midst of a public inquiry into foreign interference at which meddling by the Chinese government or its proxies features prominently. This includes transnational repression, where authoritarian governments coerce or threaten current and former citizens living abroad, as well as foreigners, to silence their criticism or make them comply. Under a law Beijing enacted imposed on Hong Kong in 2020 anyone including foreigners can be deemed a threat to national security.
In her first report this past May, Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue, a Quebec Superior Court justice, identified China as the “most persistent and sophisticated foreign interference threat to Canada” at the moment. She said the acts of foreign interference that occurred, or are suspected to have occurred, “are a stain on our electoral process.”
An analysis of China’s June 21 announcement provided by the Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in Ottawa said that Taiwanese or other foreigners who conduct business, study or travel in China, Hong Kong or Macau could face legal risks if China decides they are Taiwan independence supporters.
“Over 10 Taiwanese have been detained in China for violating national security laws,” the analysis noted.
The Chinese embassy in Ottawa defended Beijing’s actions and played down the number of people who might be targeted under these guidelines.
Investigation of the “criminal responsibility for hellbent attempts of Taiwan separatist forces to split the country and undermine national unity is necessary for making sure the law is abided by and anyone who breaks the law is brought to justice,” the embassy said in an e-mailed statement.
The embassy said the “Guidelines on Imposing Criminal Punishments on Diehard ‘Taiwan Independence’ Separatists for Conducting or Inciting Secession” are aimed at “a very small number of ‘Taiwan independence’ hardliners who engage in egregious acts and words involving ‘independence’ and whose ‘independence” activities are rampant,” the diplomatic mission said.
“Chinese authorities will strictly precisely punish crimes, and firmly defend national sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity,” it said.
Canada has not recognized Taiwan as a sovereign state since 1970, when then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau switched diplomatic relations to Communist-led China. Many countries have done the same but Taipei maintains robust informal relations with many Western countries.
In recent years, Beijing has ramped up efforts to isolate Taiwan from the international community, including by denying it the chance to participate in global bodies such as the World Health Organization’s regular assemblies, and by persuading countries that recognize Taiwan as a sovereign country to sever relations.
China has also been flooding the island with disinformation campaigns, has blocked some Taiwanese imports and has encircled it with military exercises that include missile launches.
Chinese military aircraft have increasingly crossed the median line in what Taiwan calls escalating harassment: That’s the midpoint in the waterway between Taiwan and China, which Taipei says was previously tacitly accepted by Beijing as an unofficial buffer.
In 2000, Taiwan had diplomatic relations with 29 member states of the United Nations, as well as the Vatican. Today, the number is down to 11, plus the Holy See.
With a report from Reuters