Taiwan condemns Beijing's appeal for support from local media

Taipei, May 13 (CNA) Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has condemned Beijing for urging local media outlets to "expose" Taiwan independence activities, warning that Taiwanese media representatives could face prosecution if they help China target Taiwanese citizens.

Chinese authorities have "summoned certain Taiwanese media outlets to Beijing for instructions and urged them to 'jointly expose Taiwan independence separatist activities,'" MAC said in a statement issued Tuesday evening.

Such a move "essentially amounts to asking Taiwanese media to cooperate with the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) transnational repression against Taiwan and restrict the freedoms of the Taiwanese people through intimidation," MAC said.

In Taiwan, peaceful advocacy of Taiwan independence is protected as free speech and is not illegal.

MAC, Taiwan's top government agency for handling cross-Taiwan Strait affairs, described the move as Beijing's tactic of "using Taiwan to control Taiwan."

The agency's statement came after Wu Xi (吳璽), deputy head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, made remarks on the role of cross-strait media at the seventh edition of the cross-strait media summit in Beijing earlier Tuesday.

Speaking at the event, Wu said "Taiwan independence separatist forces" have been spreading false information and malicious remarks to incite anti-China sentiment and create cross-strait confrontation, seriously undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

Wu urged media professionals from both sides to "use truthful reporting and rational commentary to expose the harmfulness and danger of Taiwan independence activities and external interference."

In its statement, MAC said Taiwanese media outlets that sent representatives to the event could violate laws such as the Anti-Infiltration Act and National Security Act if they cooperate with Beijing as "local collaborators" in its campaign to "punish Taiwan independence."

Examples of such conduct include following Beijing's instructions to "exploit press freedom" by accusing specific individuals of being Taiwan independence advocates, providing Taiwanese citizens' personal information, or disseminating bounty notices, MAC said.

Violations could carry a maximum prison sentence of more than seven years, the agency added.

According to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency, more than 100 media executives and journalism scholars attended this year's summit, including Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋), vice chairman of the Want Want Group, which owns media outlets such as CTi Television Inc. and China Times.

An exclusive report by the Liberty Times on Tuesday cited Taiwan national security sources as saying that other Taiwanese attendees included representatives from the United Daily News, TVBS and The Observer magazine.