The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) Taipei office has condemned the Chinese government for publishing out a new set of guidelines aimed at targeting what it deems “die-hard Taiwan independence separatists” and called the rules “destabilizing.”
In a statement issued on Friday, an AIT spokesperson said the institute “strongly condemns the escalatory and destabilizing language” from People’s Republic of China (PRC) officials in “legal guidelines” that were announced in June.
“PRC threats and legal pressure will not achieve peaceful resolution to cross-strait differences,” the AIT said, adding that it “urge[s] the PRC to engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan.”
Photo: Screen grab from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Web site
“We also continue to urge restraint and no unilateral change to the status quo, which has preserved peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and throughout the region for decades,” the de facto US embassy added.
The AIT’s comments came two days after China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) launched a new section on its Web site disclosing the information on those listed as “die-hard Taiwan independence separatists,” including Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄).
TAO also encouraged the public to report suspicious behaviors to the Chinese authorities.
The section was created after Chinese officials issued new guidelines on June 21, effective immediately, which allow courts in China to try Taiwan independence advocates in absentia.
“Die-hard” advocates of Taiwan independence who are convicted of inciting secession or committing other “serious crimes” could be sentenced to death, the judicial guidelines say.
The guidelines, which detail “the criminal nature of ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist acts, their criminal liabilities and the procedure to impose penalties,” can be seen as “a refinement and supplement” to China’s 2005 “Anti-Secession” Law, Chinese state backed Xinhua news agency said at the time.
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