Mainland China calls for legal improvements to fight Taiwan independence, foreign forces

Mainland China’s No 3 official called for “further improving” the legal system against Taiwan independence, as he addressed a symposium in Beijing on Friday marking the 20th anniversary of its Anti-Secession Law. Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), said Beijing should “resolutely crack down on Taiwanese secession and intervention of foreign forces”. Beijing had doubled down on “improving the legal system to penalise independence forces” and the “large-scale anti-secession, anti-intervention struggle” under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Zhao said at the event. The last time such a meeting was held was in 2020, which marked the 15th anniversary of the law. Zhao added that the country would continue to step up its confidence and determination to achieve reunification with Taiwan, which Beijing sees as part of its territory. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state. But Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to arming Taiwan for self-defence. The meeting was the first of its kind since Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te, whom Beijing has labelled as a “troublemaker”, was sworn in last year. The symposium was attended by senior officials including Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Liu Zhenli, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA’s) chief of joint staff. Lin Xiangyang, commander of the Eastern Theatre Command, which oversees the Taiwan Strait, also took part in the meeting, marking the first time that a PLA frontline commander has delivered a speech at such a meeting. Wang Xiaohong, the minister of public security, also attended the symposium, the first time a public security minister has taken part in the event. Mainland China’s Anti-Secession Law was enacted in 2005 to “oppose and check Taiwan’s secession” from the People’s Republic of China and “promote peaceful national reunification”. But it allowed for the use of “non-peaceful means” under three conditions to protect what Beijing believes to be its sovereignty. They include Taiwanese authorities formally pursuing secession, “incidents entailing Taiwan’s secession from China”, or a situation in which “possibilities for a peaceful reunification should be completely exhausted”. Taiwanese authorities have criticised the law as “unilaterally enacted” by Beijing and a “violation of the principle of self-determination” of the self-ruled island. In recent years, the mainland has tightened its legal framework relating to anti-succession activities. Last June, a judicial guideline was issued by five departments, including the Ministry of Public Security, defining criminal punishments for diehard “Taiwan independence” separatists for conducting or inciting secession. The guideline allowed for trials in absentia in relevant cases and for death penalty verdicts in cases deemed to have “severely endangered the state and the people”. The Friday meeting was held one day after Lai labelled the mainland as a “foreign hostile force” and launched 17 national security measures in response to what he called threats from Beijing. The new measures announced on Thursday included a controversial proposal to restore a military court system in Taiwan to process active-duty military personnel accused of military crimes such as sedition, aiding the enemy, and leaking classified information. On Thursday evening, Chen Binhua, spokesman for Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said Lai’s remarks demonstrated that he was a “destroyer of cross-strait peace”. “If the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces dare to cross the red line, we will have no choice but to take decisive actions,” Chen said in a statement.

Mainland China calls for legal improvements to fight Taiwan independence, foreign forces

Beijing’s No 3 official Zhao Leji says it will step up determination to achieve reunification with Taiwan