Threatening supporters of criminal independence for life, China makes Taiwan angry
 |
| China angered Taiwan after threatening to sentence independence supporters to life in prison. Photo/Illustration |
TAIPEI - China has angered Taiwan after threatening to impose life sentences on those who support the independence of the democratic island. This condition is heating up the situation in the sensitive Taiwan Strait.
China for the first time outlined the pending punishment for people deemed to support the independence of Taiwan, the island's top self-governing official, as tensions rise over what China regards as its own province.
China has not ruled out using force to bring Taiwan under its control, even though the island claims the territory is an independent state that will defend its freedoms and democracy.
The Taiwan Affairs Office described Taiwan Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang, Parliament Speaker You Si-kun and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu as "stubborn pro-Taiwan independence", when announcing for the first time that it had compiled a list of those included in the pro-independence category.
"China will impose penalties on those on the list by not allowing them to enter the mainland and the Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions," spokesman Zhu Fenglian said in a statement on Friday.
"Those blacklisted persons will not be allowed to cooperate with entities or persons from the mainland, nor will their companies, or entities that fund them, be allowed to profit from the mainland," he added.
Zhu said the message China wants to send to supporters of Taiwan independence is: "Those who forget their ancestors, betray their homeland and divide the country, will never end well, and will be rejected by the people and judged by history."
In response the Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council rebuked China, saying Taiwan is a democratic society with the rule of law and is not ruled by Beijing.
"We do not accept intimidation and threats from autocratic and authoritarian areas," the council said, adding that it would take necessary countermeasures to safeguard the safety and well-being of the people.
In a Twitter post on Saturday, Taiwan's Foreign Minister, Joseph Wu, took China's remarks lightly.
"I have received many congratulations after being blacklisted and sanctioned, for life, by the #CCP," referring to the Chinese Communist Party.
"Many are jealous of not being recognized; some are asking where they can propose to her. For the rare honor, I will continue to fight for #Taiwan's freedom and democracy," he stressed.
China believes Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen is a separatist determined to declare formal independence. In response, President Tsai said Taiwan had become an independent country called the Republic of China, its official name.