China sanctions five Taiwan political pundits, rolls out law to punish ‘separatists’
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The moves by Beijing are an early signal that its relations with incoming president Lai Ching-te are likely to be as fraught as they have been for the past eight years.
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BEIJING – China said it would sanction five Taiwanese political commentators and roll out a law to punish “separatists”, moves aimed at piling pressure on incoming president Lai Ching-te just days before he takes office.
The pundits’ remarks “deceived some people on the island, incited hostility and confrontation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and hurt the feelings of compatriots on both sides”, said Mr Chen Binhua, spokesman for the government department in Beijing that handles affairs related to Taiwan, at a press briefing on May 15.
The five are regulars on political talk shows on the island of 23 million people that Beijing has pledged to bring under its control someday, by force if necessary.
The moves by Beijing are an early signal that its relations with Mr Lai, the current vice-president who will be sworn in as Taiwan’s new leader on May 20,
China castigates the ruling Democratic Progressive Party as separatists who are pushing the two sides towards war. It has refused to hold high-level talks with Ms Tsai because she will not acknowledge its stance that Taiwan is part of China.
Instead, Beijing has ramped up economic, diplomatic and military pressure on Ms Tsai. The most high-profile example of that was when the People’s Liberation Army held unprecedented exercises around Taiwan in 2022 after she met with then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Mr Chen also took aim at Mr Lai, saying he had to choose between peace or “the evil path of provocation and confrontation”.
He did not give details on the new sanctions but said they would be similar to ones levelled in 2021 against three top leaders. Back then, the premier, foreign minister and speaker of the legislature and their relatives were barred from entering the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau.
They were also prohibited from working with mainland-based organisations and individuals, and companies linked to them were barred from making profits there. The sanctions are mostly symbolic since the commentators are unlikely to travel to China or do business there.
One of them, Mr Lee Cheng-hao, is a former member of the Kuomintang (KMT) who was kicked out of the main opposition party for remarks critical of a former presidential candidate. He once suggested removing the word “Chinese” from the KMT’s name.
Mr Chen, the Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman, did not provide details on any new legislation to deal with individuals who he said “severely damage national sovereignty, security and development interests”. The laws would target only a small number of individuals, he added. BLOOMBERG
