ANALYSIS/TAO website 'Taiwan separatists' section creates punitive model: Experts

Taipei, Aug. 8 (CNA) The newly-added "diehard Taiwan independence separatists" section on the website of China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) can be seen as Beijing's attempt to establish a punitive model, following new legal guidelines targeting the same individuals, experts have told CNA.

Established on Wednesday, the new online section lists 10 "diehard Taiwan independence separatists" previously announced by the TAO in 2021 and 2022, including Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄), and National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮).

Previous TAO statements and legal documents about Taiwan independence, including a new set of guidelines targeting "diehard Taiwan independence separatists," are also included in the new section, which features a mailbox for reporting "crimes" and providing evidence against those listed or new separatists.

The Chinese authorities aim to make an example of the 10 previously announced "diehard Taiwan independence separatists," demonstrate the impact of the newly issued guidelines, and construct a punitive model building on the individuals on the list, said Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致), director of Taiwan Thinktank's China Research Center.

Issued on June 21 with immediate effect, the new guidelines allow courts in China to try "diehard Taiwan independence separatists" in absentia, with those convicted of inciting secession who also cause "grave harm to the state and the (Chinese) people" potentially being sentenced to death, according to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency.

Wu noted that China's move to reiterate the previously announced list of 10 individuals aims to reduce concerns about punishing Taiwan independence among ordinary Taiwanese and emphasizes that only "very few diehard Taiwan independence separatists" are targeted by the Chinese authorities.

The setup of a new section also demonstrates that action has been taken following the issuance of the new guidelines, Wu added.

By setting up a mailbox to report those separatists, the Chinese authorities are attempting to enumerate or create conditions that can be defined as related to Taiwan independence, Wu said.

He predicted that further clarification on what constitutes reportable offenses may follow, potentially leading to "more individuals being included in the list in the future."

Wang Hung-jen (王宏仁), director of the Institute for National Policy Research, said that the measure is an extension of China's legal battle against Taiwan, instilling fear in Taiwanese with the objective being to make them accept conditions proposed by China.

He mentioned that in addition to this tougher measure, China adopts a more lenient approach to the general population in Taiwan, "to make ordinary Taiwanese feel positively about China while intimidating Taiwan independence separatists."

Regarding the mailbox for reporting separatists, Wang pointed out that such behavior is part of China's strategy to monitor society, but now applied to "diehard Taiwan independence separatists."

Meanwhile, a Chinese scholar noted that after the successful resolution of the Kinmen speedboat incident between the Chinese and Taiwanese authorities on July 30, some Taiwanese media mistakenly thought there was a new beginning for cross-strait relations.

The Chinese authorities need to re-emphasize their position that "there is no room for negotiation on the issue of opposing Taiwan independence," said Bao Chengke (包承柯), assistant director at the Institute for East Asian Studies in Shanghai, China.

"Through the adjustment (to the TAO website), they (Chinese authorities) are reiterating their intolerance of Taiwan independence separatist activities," Bao added.