|
China has been accused of carrying out 149 incidents of transnational repression targeting 131 people connected to Taiwan since 2005, with Beijing allegedly employing tactics ranging from physical attacks and criminal prosecution to psychological coercion, digital oppression and economic sanctions, according to a report by Taipei Times.
The report, citing remarks by Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chieh, said the figures were presented during a legislative session of the Legislative Yuan's Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee. The session heard a special report on China's transnational repression and legal mechanisms to prevent such activities, with representatives from the MAC, Ministry of Justice, National Security Bureau and other government agencies in attendance. According to Liang, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has employed nine forms of transnational repression against Taiwan: physical attacks, criminal prosecution, psychological coercion, digital oppression, border controls, collective punishment, economic sanctions, interference in democracy and the abuse of institutional mechanisms. Explaining these tactics, Liang said physical attacks included assaults, paint-splattering incidents and staged traffic accidents, while criminal prosecution involved issuing bounties and wanted notices, arrests and judicial trials. Psychological coercion, he said, ranged from labeling targeted individuals as "die-hard Taiwan independence supporters" to surveillance and stalking. Digital oppression reportedly involved broadcasting satellite photographs of individuals' residences and spreading disinformation, while border controls included restrictions on targets and their family members entering or leaving Chinese territory. Liang further stated that collective punishment involved threatening or harassing the families, friends and business associates of targeted individuals. Economic pressure was allegedly imposed through restrictions on trade partners and the freezing of bank accounts. The remaining tactics included intimidation of Taiwanese civil servants to disrupt the normal functioning of state institutions and the misuse of institutional mechanisms, including judicial procedures, restrictions on international participation and attempts to limit personal freedom through international organisations. The MAC deputy minister said those targeted by such activities included politicians, defence and military personnel, judicial officials, academics and civil society figures. Citing cases involving Japanese political commentator Akio Yaita and Taiwanese comedian Huang Yi-hao, Liang said the CCP's methods had evolved to include physical violence against individuals it opposed. He called for a comprehensive response to counter what he described as Beijing's escalating tactics. Liang further alleged that the CCP's ambition to annex Taiwan and eliminate the Republic of China, Taiwan's official name, had remained unchanged. He said Beijing was accelerating military preparations for a possible invasion of Taiwan, seeking to force unification or surrender through military threats while simultaneously intensifying legal, psychological and public opinion warfare against the island. According to the report, Liang said Beijing had increasingly combined its campaign to "oppose independence and promote unification" with transnational repression, seeking to achieve what he described as "unification without war" and "governance before unification." He alleged that these efforts were aimed at intimidating people dissatisfied with the CCP and discouraging those who openly advocate freedom. Liang further accused Beijing of attempting to assert jurisdiction over Taiwan through transnational repression, thereby undermining Taiwanese sovereignty and creating an atmosphere of fear among individuals expressing support for Taiwan's independence. He said China was using the pretext of "punishing Taiwan independence" and claiming compliance with Chinese law to manufacture a legal justification for exercising jurisdiction over Taiwan. By repeatedly signalling that individuals accused of involvement in "Taiwan independence" or other politically sensitive activities could be targeted regardless of their location, Beijing was attempting to encourage self-censorship, Liang said. He warned that such intimidation could gradually silence voices supporting Taiwan as a sovereign and independent country, adding to concerns over China's expanding use of political, legal and coercive pressure beyond its borders. (ANI)
|
