Taiwan raises travel alert for China due to threat of death penalty

Taiwan’s government urged people on Thursday to avoid “unnecessary travel” to China, after Beijing announced that “strong” supporters of the island’s independence could face the death penalty.

China claims democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and has refused to use force to bring the self-ruled island under its control.

Last week, Beijing published legal guidelines on criminal penalties for supporters of Taiwanese independence, including the death penalty for “particularly serious” cases involving “diehard” supporters of independence, state media reported.

Taiwan’s top Chinese policy body, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), raised its travel warning to the second-highest “orange” level on Thursday.

“After an overall assessment, the government considers it necessary to increase the travel warning for mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau… and advises people to avoid unnecessary travel,” MAC spokesman Liang Wen-chieh said.

If Taiwanese people have to go to China, Liang advises them not to discuss sensitive topics, not to take photos of military sites, airports and ports and “not to take books on politics, history and religion.”

Beijing has had no top-level communications with Taipei since 2016 and has labeled the island’s president, Lai Ching-te, a “dangerous separatist.”

Lai said Monday that China “has no right to punish Taiwanese” for their views or advocacy.

The United States has also criticized Beijing’s death penalty guidelines, with the State Department condemning the “escalating and destabilizing language and actions of PRC officials.”

Beijing has increased pressure on Taiwan in recent years and after Lai’s inauguration last month, China held military exercises around the island.

aw/rsc