Diehard "Taiwan independence" separatists

On 15 November 2020, Hong Kong Liaison Office's Ta Kung Pao quoted "authoritative sources" as saying that China is drafting a "list of die-hard pro-independence elements" and intends to "severely punish pro-Taiwan independence elements" and their supporters. This includes, but is not limited to, holding them accountable for life under the Anti-Secession Law, the Criminal Law and the National Security Law" for the "crime of secession".^{[1][unreliable source?]}

On 18 November 2020, at a regular press conference of the Taiwan Affairs Office, in response to a reporter's inquiry about whether China was studying and formulating a list of "die-hard "Taiwan independence" elements", spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said that the actions of a "very small number of die-hard "Taiwan independence" elements" would not be tolerated. She said that the purpose of cracking down on these people and their financial backers is to "safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the interests of people on both sides of the Strait". Zhu also said that "the unification of the two sides of the Strait is an unstoppable trend. All die-hard "Taiwan independence" elements who are stubborn and refuse to see the truth will be condemned by the people and punished by history." On 25 November, Zhu Fenglian confirmed that a list of "die-hard "Taiwan independence" elements" was being studied and formulated, and said precise measures would be taken to crack down on "die-hard "Taiwan independence" elements" and their financial backers and other major supporters.^[2]

According to information revealed at the regular press conference of the Taiwan Affairs Office on 5 November 2021, the authorities plan to implement a series of "punishments" on the individuals listed and will pursue their criminal liability for life. The punishments include: prohibiting them and their families from entering mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, restricting their affiliated institutions from cooperating with relevant organizations and individuals in mainland China, and prohibiting their affiliated enterprises and financiers from seeking profits in mainland China, as well as other measures.^[16]

On 21 June 2024, the Taiwan Affairs Office and other departments held a joint special press conference to announce the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of State Security, and the Ministry of Justice jointly issued the Guidelines on Imposing Criminal Punishments on Diehard "Taiwan independence" Separatists for Conducting or Inciting Secession. The Guidelines stipulate that the crimes of separatism and inciting separatism shall be "applied to a very small number of "Taiwan independence" stubborn elements" who "organize, plan and implement separatist acts such as 'legal Taiwan independence', 'seeking independence by relying on foreign countries', and 'seeking independence by force'"; and those who "collude with foreign or overseas institutions, organizations and individuals to carry out crimes of separatism and inciting separatism" shall be punished more severely. The Guidelines also stipulate that if "Taiwan independence" stubborn elements voluntarily abandon their "Taiwan independence" separatist stance and no longer carry out "Taiwan independence" separatist activities, the case may be withdrawn and no prosecution may be initiated. It also says that a trial in absentia may be applied to cases of "Taiwan independence" elements who commit crimes of separatism and inciting separatism, with penalties up to and including capital punishment.^[17][18]

On 7 August 2024, the Taiwan Affairs Office the Ministry of Public Security added a special column on "Punishing 'Taiwan Independence' die-hards in accordance with the law". In addition to listing the die-hards of "Taiwan independence", the column also includes relevant statements by the spokesperson, legal documents, clues and crimes of the die-hards of "Taiwan independence" listed in the report list, and reports of new die-hards of "Taiwan independence" with serious crimes. There are five major sections in total.^[19]

When the list of three people was announced in November 2021, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council stated that it would not rule out reciprocal countermeasures.^[23] After Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in 2022 significantly increased the number of people on the list, the Mainland Affairs Council again expressed its strong protest and dissatisfaction, believing that this move was nothing more than an attempt to vent internal turmoil and intimidate Taiwan and the international community.^[24] On 27 June 2024, the Mainland Affairs Council announced that travel risks to mainland China and Hong Kong and Macau had been upgraded to an orange alert.^[25]

Miao Boya, a Taipei City Councilor from the Social Democratic Party, said that the measure taken by the Taiwan Affairs Office to these individuals from entering mainland China and the Hong Kong and Macau "proves that Taiwan is not part of China." She also said that "the People's Republic of China has never had any effective rule over Taiwan for even a second".^[26] Democratic Progressive Party legislator Lin Chun-hsien said that China seems to be addicted to sanctions, sanctioning Americans, then Europeans, and now it wants to sanction "Taiwan independence diehards".^[27] Eric Chu, chairman of the Kuomintang, said that the laws of mainland China do not extend to those of Taiwan, and that the two sides should communicate and respect each other. Former Kuomintang president Ma Ying-jeou said that mainland China should learn more about the political ecology of Taiwan before taking action, otherwise it may have the opposite effect.^[28] Ko Wen-je, chairman of the Taiwan People's Party and mayor of Taipei, said, "What's the point of talking about this? Usually, a few more calls will get higher poll numbers."^[29] Chang Chi-lu, a legislator from the TPP, said that the listing would have the opposite effect and would easily leave a bad impression on the Taiwanese people.^[30] Before being included on the list, Chen Jiau-hua, the chairwoman of the New Power Party, said that China's move was "not only absurd and unreasonable, but also a provocation of disputes".^[30]

Lin Yi-cheng, executive director of the Taiwan Constitutional Foundation, pointed out that the Chinese mainland's publication of the list of die-hard pro-independence elements and the imposition of sanctions did not cause division and panic in Taiwanese society. Instead, these people congratulated each other on being "certified" by the Chinese mainland as pro-Taiwan individuals and even rushed to line up for sanctions, which completely failed to achieve the expected effect.^[31] A spokesperson for the American Institute in Taiwan said that the United States "strongly condemns the use of escalating and destabilizing language by Chinese officials in their recent "legal guidelines" and urges the People's Republic of China to engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan". The institute said that "China's threats and legal pressure on Taiwan cannot peacefully resolve cross-strait differences". The AIT spokesperson noted that the United States "continues to urge all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the status quo. For decades, this status quo has maintained peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the entire region".^[32]