BEIJING: The Chinese mainland’s recent move to criminally punish “Taiwan independence” separatists displays its resolve and ability to promote the reunification of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, experts say.
About 140 scholars from both sides of the Strait attended a two-day cross-Strait relations seminar in Qingdao, Shandong province, over the weekend to expose the harm of the “Taiwan independence” views of the Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan and find ways to eliminate them.
Qiu Kaiming, deputy director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said Taiwan’s new leader, Lai Ching-te, has persistently advocated “independence” since taking office, fostering cross-Strait confrontation, obstructing exchanges and attempting to seek “independence” through military means and the use of foreign forces.
Such efforts have disrupted peace in the Taiwan Strait and were a provocation targeting the one-China principle, which the mainland would not tolerate and would firmly counteract, he said.
Mainland authorities released a set of guidelines in June on imposing criminal penalties on staunch supporters of “Taiwan independence” for engaging in or inciting separatist activities, with trial in absentia permitted when necessary.
The websites of the Taiwan Affairs Office and the Ministry of Public Security added new sections earlier this month that included a list of 10 “pro-independence” Taiwan politicians who are deemed stubborn separatists, the legal foundation to punish them and ways for members of the public to provide evidence of such behavior.
Qiu said the DPP authorities had deliberately conflated the broader Taiwan population with the few separatists targeted by the mainland, and their attempt to shift focus would not succeed. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
