China's intimidation tactics against Taiwan threaten freedom of speech: U.S.

Washington, March 19 (CNA) The U.S. Department of State said Wednesday that China's intimidation campaign against Taiwan is threat to freedom of speech and a destabilizing factor in the Indo-Pacific region.

"Twenty years after the passage of the Anti-Secession Law, China's intimidation campaign has gone global against Taiwan and its supporters in the United States and around the world," a State Department spokesperson told CNA via email after Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) was recently put on trial in China on "separatism" charges.

The spokesperson said China's intimidation campaign has been "threatening free speech, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and eroding norms that have underpinned the cross-strait status quo for decades."

The judicial guidelines issued by China in 2024, which purportedly are based on its Anti-Secession Law and Criminal Law, are "draconian," said the spokesperson.

"They direct Chinese courts and law enforcement agencies to prosecute and punish so-called 'Taiwan independence diehards,' including, in some cases, by the death penalty," the spokesperson said.

In the face of such provocative and irresponsible actions by China, "the United States remains committed to maintaining the capacity to deter aggressive action and resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan," the spokesperson said.

Li, also known by the pen name Fu Cha (富察), was detained by police in Shanghai in March 2023 on suspicion of "engaging in activities that jeopardize national security," according to China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO).

Born in 1971 in China's northern Liaoning province, Li moved to Taiwan in 2009 and founded Gūsa Publishing (八旗文化) the same year. He is married to a Taiwanese woman.

Earlier this week, the TAO said Li had been tried for "the crime of inciting to split the country," and that a "public verdict" has been handed down at the Shanghai First Intermediate People's Court on Feb. 17.

The TAO did not give any information regarding sentencing in the case.