China expands repression, targets Taiwanese lawmaker in baseless “secession” probe

TAIPEI: In a fresh display of political intimidation, China has launched an investigation against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen for alleged “secession,” drawing sharp condemnation from Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC).

The probe marks another attempt by China to wield its internal laws as weapons against Taiwan’s democratic leaders and institutions, The Taipei Times reported.

According to The Taipei Times, Chinese authorities claimed that Shen’s Kuma Academy, an organisation focused on civil defence education, was a “separatist entity.” The investigation, led by the Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau, accuses Shen of “activities undermining national unity.”

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV aired reports on the case, encouraging citizens to provide information against him while promising to protect informants’ identities, a move widely seen as an intimidation tactic.

Beijing had earlier added Shen and United Microelectronics Corp founder Robert Tsao to its list of so-called “die-hard Taiwanese independence activists,” which also includes former premier Su Tseng-chang and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim.

In June, even Shen’s father’s business was sanctioned for allegedly supporting Taiwan’s independence. Responding to the move, the MAC condemned Beijing’s attempt to extend its laws beyond its borders.

“The Chinese Communist Party [CCP] has no jurisdiction over Taiwan. Its political prosecution of an elected legislator is an illegal act meant to instil fear,” it said. The council urged Taiwanese citizens to remain cautious when visiting China, warning of arbitrary arrests and detentions without legitimate cause.

MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng further denounced China’s “22 guidelines,” introduced earlier this year, which authorise lifelong punishment and even death sentences in absentia for those deemed “independence advocates.” “These measures are not laws, they are tools of political persecution designed to divide the Taiwanese people,” Chiu stated, as cited by The Taipei Times.

Shen, in a Facebook post, said Beijing’s move only reaffirmed the CCP’s oppressive nature. “China targets those who defend Taiwan, but we are not afraid,” he wrote. The case highlights how Beijing continues to weaponise legal systems to stifle Taiwan’s democracy and silence voices of resistance, as reported by The Taipei Times. (ANI)

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