Autocracy ‘bad’, Taiwan president says after China threatens death by secession By Reuters

Written by Ben Blanchard

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Democracy is not a crime and democracy is the real “evil”, Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said on Monday after China threatened to impose the death penalty in extreme cases against “torturous” Taiwanese freedom fighters.

China, which regards Taiwan as its own country, has made no secret of its dislike of Lai, who took office last month, saying he is a “divisive party”, and staged war games shortly after his inauguration.

On Friday, China increased pressure on Taiwan by issuing new legal guidelines to punish those who say they support the island’s legal independence, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction over the democratic island.

Asked about China’s move at a press conference at the presidential office in Taipei, Lai first emphasized his sympathy for the recent floods in southern China before responding.

“I want to emphasize: democracy is not a crime; democracy is the real evil. China has absolutely no right to punish Taiwanese people because of the positions they hold. Moreover, China has no right to follow the rights of Taiwanese people across the borders,” he said.

According to China, anyone who does not support “reunification” is therefore a supporter of Taiwan independence, Lai said.

“I also want to ask China to face the existence of the Republic of China and have exchanges and dialogue with the democratically elected, legitimate government of Taiwan,” he said, using Taiwan’s official name. “If this is not done, the relationship between Taiwan and China will become more and more divided.”

Taiwan said that since Thursday, there has been a significant increase in Chinese military aircraft as Beijing conducts “joint combat surveillance” near the island.

Between Thursday and Sunday, Taiwan said it detected 115 Chinese military aircraft operating in close proximity, approaching within 31 kilometers (57 km) of the island’s north.

Taiwan has said that over the past four years China has carried out routine military operations across the island as part of a “grey zone” pressure campaign.

Taiwan’s annual Han Kuang war games next month will aim to simulate actual combat as closely as possible given the rapidly growing “enemy threat” from China, a senior official said.

Lai rejects Beijing’s claims of sovereignty and says only the people of Taiwan can decide their future. He has repeatedly offered talks with China but was rejected.

China says any move by Taiwan to declare formal independence would be grounds for an attack on the island.

The government in Taipei says Taiwan is an independent country, the Republic of China, and has no plans to change that. The Republican government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing the civil war with Mao Zedong’s Communists.

Lai also faces challenges at home, as his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost its parliamentary majority in the same January election that put him in office.

Speaking at the same press conference, Lai said he will ask the constitutional court to stop a number of controversial changes passed by the opposition and check whether they are in line with the constitution.

The opposition parties say that this change, which among other things makes it a crime to disrespect the parliament by government officials, is needed in order to give a wider response, but the DPP says that it was forced without consultation.