'Will take targeted steps': China to 'severely punish' supporters of Taiwan's independence

As US-Taiwan relations are blooming with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen already in talks with US President-elect Joe Biden’s team, China is considering legal steps to curb island’s independence and its supporters. China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian on November 25 said in a briefing that a “list of diehard Taiwan secessionists” is currently under consideration by the government and claimed that it is only aimed at a fraction of independence supporters and the ones who provide funding. 

"It is absolutely not aimed at the vast majority of Taiwan compatriots," she said in a press conference in Beijing while also adding China would take "targeted steps to severely punish in accordance with the law” those the government views as stringent supporters of the island being independent that China considers as its own breakaway province. 

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However, this move has indicated that China is willing to mount legal challenges against Taiwan’s democratically-elected President Tsai Ing-wen. According to the report by the Chinese Communist Party’s mouthpiece Global Times, the list could even include senior Taiwanese government officials.  The Chinese media reports have also said that the 2005 Anti-Secession Law, that mandates the use of force if government judges Taiwan to have declared independence, they could be charged on the list. 

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Taiwan-US host first high-level meeting

Even as the world awaits how China’s legal battles will impact Taiwan even though Beijing has no jurisdiction over the island, Taiwan and the US held their first high-level meeting under a new economic dialogue on November 20, where they covered a broad range of economic issues including 5G networks and telecom security, supply chains, global health, science, and technology among other things. The two sides also inked a five-year agreement to establish an "institutionalised dialogue mechanism".

Earlier, after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Taiwan “has not been a part of China, Beijing has warned to respond harshly to any moves that undermine its core interests, said Chinese Foreign Ministry on November 13. China has repeatedly stated that it considers Taiwan as its breakaway province and has indicated that it would use military force if necessary. However, Pompeo said in a radio interview that Taiwan is not China’s part. 

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