Lawful punishment of separatists essential for maintaining stability across Taiwan Strait: spokeswoman

China

Lawful punishment of separatists essential for maintaining stability across Taiwan Strait: spokeswoman

2024-06-26 11:07 Last Updated At：18:27

Lawful punishment of Taiwan separatists is essential to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, said Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

Zhu made the remarks in reply to a question concerning a set of guidelines on imposing criminal punishments on diehard "Taiwan independence" separatists for conducting or inciting secession.

"Punishing by law the very few diehard 'Taiwan independence' separatists who engage in malicious speech and rampant activities on 'Taiwan Independence', is essential to truly uphold cross-Strait peace and stability, and effectively guarantee the interests and wellbeing of Taiwan compatriots. It aligns with the mainstream public opinion in Taiwan society, which advocates for peace, development, communication, and cooperation. We urge certain people in Taiwan to gain a clear understanding of the situation, and refrain from disregarding the public opinions and going against the trend of the times," said Zhu.

Zhu emphasized that the diehard "Taiwan independence" separatists have the chance to avoid legal prosecution by voluntarily abandoning their separatist stance, ceasing separatist activities, and taking steps to mitigate harm.

"The guidelines on imposing criminal punishments on diehard 'Taiwan independence' separatists for conducting or inciting secession, was formulated in strict compliance with the law. It strikes the right balance between leniency and strictness while ensuring that offenses receive due punishment. According to relevant regulations, diehard 'Taiwan independence' separatists may be exempted from prosecution for some or all criminal liabilities in accordance with the law, if they voluntarily renounce their separatist stance, cease their separatist activities, and take measures to mitigate and eliminate the harmful consequences, or prevent further harm," said Zhu.

The guidelines, issued last week, spells out clearly-defined circumstances in which a very few diehard "Taiwan independence" separatists, through acts such as organizing, plotting or carrying out schemes of "de jure independence", or seeking independence by relying on foreign support or by force, should be held criminally responsible.

Also, it stipulates that those who are found to have colluded with any foreign or overseas institution, organization or individual in committing such crimes, should be given a harsher punishment.

According to Article 6 of the document, those who commit the crime of splitting the state may be sentenced to death if the crime causes particularly grave harm to the state and the people or if the circumstances are particularly serious.

54th OAS General Assembly held in Asuncion, with focus on regional security

2024-06-29 22:29 Last Updated At：23:07

The 54th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) was held in Asuncion, Paraguay from Wednesday to Friday, with a focus on integration and security for the sustainable regional development.

Attending the assembly were representatives from OAS member states, 74 permanent observers and some civil society organizations.

Under the theme of "Integration and Security for the Sustainable Development of the Region," the delegations expressed their pleas for peace, democracy, equality and multilateral work among countries.

Hours before the opening ceremony in Asuncion, the situation in Bolivia, a neighboring country to Paraguay, was top on the agenda.

According to the Bolivian government, Gen. Juan Jose Zuniga on Wednesday led the attempted coup in Palacio Quemado, the government palace, which is located in Murillo Square in the city of La Paz, in a failed bid to oust President Luis Arce from office.

"We do have a very deep concern about the indigenous people in Bolivia, and hopefully this coup d'etat that didn't happen, that things go smoothly," said Clement Chartier, former president of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples.

The assembly also dedicated its statements to the improvement of democracy in Haiti and also to the promotion of human rights throughout the continent. A resolution was approved for continued efforts toward the immediate restoration of security, and the strengthening of humanitarian aid in Haiti.

Haiti has long suffered serious political and social crises, especially after then President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in 2021. There are around 200 armed gangs in the country disturbing the social order. The rise of armed gangs, the surge of violence incidents and the increase of lynching cases have forced Haitians to live in humanitarian disasters in terms of safety, health care and food supplies.