Here is another clue that the Chinese Communist Party is no friend of the ROC’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party: the circulation by Chinese social media of satellite images of the home and workplace of DPP legislator Puma Shen (shown above) (CNA, January 3, 2025).
The post, made by a Chinese Weibo user on Thursday, also threatened to have Shen arrested for “secession” and solicited tips from the public. It was quickly circulated by various Chinese media, including Straits Today and Straits Headlines, which is affiliated with the state-run Taiwan.cn [“.cn” is the official top-level domain of the People’s Republic of China].
The [ROC] Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the actions violated international conventions and infringed on personal privacy, accusing China of attempting to create fear and a chilling effect in Taiwan’s democratic society….
“If China continues to act recklessly and escalate its intimidation of the Taiwanese people, we will have no choice but to respond by reviewing all cross-strait exchanges,” the MAC [Mainland Affairs Council] warned.
Meanwhile, the National Police Agency said it will step up security measures to protect Shen’s personal safety and the security of his residence, ensuring he can continue performing his duties as a lawmaker.
A few days later, the eng.taiwan.cn site relayed the news that “Chinese mainland names two die-hard ‘Taiwan independence’ secessionists,” Liu Shih-fang and Cheng Ying-yao, who are government ministers.
The accuser was one of the CCP’s reliable hacks, Chen Binhua, spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office and a diehard separatist from facts and logic. The accusation is about Liu and Cheng’s alleged support for “seceding” from the People’s Republic of China, the same charge wielded against Puma Shen.
Party outlet Global Times said that Liu and Cheng, having been “listed as diehard ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists,” would be “subject to punishment in accordance with the law…. Both Liu and Cheng are obstinate in their ‘Taiwan independence’ ideology, arrogant in their separatist rhetoric, and egregious in their separatist actions. They have openly sought to [etc.]…”
In accordance
In June 2024, the CCP declared that it felt justified in murdering “diehard separatists,” announcing this policy development the way other countries might announce efforts to expand aluminum production. If you are “obstinate,” “arrogant,” “egregious” in your separatism, you probably qualify as “diehard.”
In addition to their other sins, Chen Binhua and his masters are perpetuating the pretense that the ROC and Taiwan, however one might regard their relationship to each other, are not already independent of the mainland. The de facto independence makes “seceding” from the PRC a meaningless endeavor, like trying to find your way home while you are sitting in your living room. Whether the Taiwanese will be able to retain their independence is a different question.
The people who do need to secede—in order to escape from the Red Chinese tyranny—are all those residing within the actual borders of the People’s Republic. Good luck, diehard separatists.
