China says Taiwan intimidating people, inciting hostility
China says a proposed bill in Taiwan purportedly aimed at combating Chinese influence is spreading alarm among the Taiwanese business community in China and inciting hostility.
Beijing views Taiwan as a renegade province and has grown increasingly suspicious that its authority led by US-backed President Tsai Ing-wen wants to push for formal secession.
Ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections on Jan. 11, Taiwan's ruling party has begun a renewed push for passing a bill to combat what it claims as Chinese efforts to influence politics in the island.
The draft bill prohibits anyone donating to a political party, influencing elections or otherwise seeking sway in Taiwan politics on the instructions of or with the financial support of "infiltration sources.”
Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for China's policy-making Taiwan Affairs Office, said Wednesday the ruling party has been using such "law revisions" to incite hostility and restrict normal exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.
"In fact for Taiwan's people, especially Taiwanese businessmen and students, it has already caused alarm and panic that everyone is treated as an enemy," she added, referring to Taiwanese in China.
The main opposition party in Taiwan, the Kuomintang, has also denounced the proposed bill, saying it is a "political tool" of Tsai and her party to gain votes.
China has pursued Taiwan’s reunification ever since the island broke away from the mainland during a civil war in 1949. China claims full sovereignty over the island and almost all world countries, including the US, recognize that sovereignty.
China is Taiwan's favorite investment destination, with many Taiwanese firms investing over $100 billion there in total, according to private estimates.
Relations between Beijing and Taipei have particularly been strained since Tsai came to power in 2016. She has strong anti-China inclinations and refuses to acknowledge that both sides are part of “one China.”
The United States has long courted Taipei in an attempt to counter Beijing. The US — which has no formal diplomatic relations with Taipei by law — has extensive military ties with the island, selling it advanced military hardware.
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