In Taiwan, the Mainland Affairs Council said that at least 126 Taiwanese people had been subjected to transnational repression by China in 140 cases. The statement followed reports of the arrest in the United States of a woman accused of spying for China on the son of Taiwan President William Lai and his family.
As Taipei Times reports, the council said that China had repeatedly threatened the safety of people targeted by such actions and their families. According to the body, these efforts are aimed not only at Taiwan's president and officials, but also at Taiwanese people in general — to intimidate them and create a deterrent effect.
The council noted that Taiwanese people firmly oppose such actions. It also stressed that monitoring and stalking people by local individuals acting on China's instructions, as in the case involving Lai's son, is a federal crime in the United States.
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At the same time, similar actions in Taiwan are not punishable under current legislation. According to the council's statement, this reveals gaps in the legal framework for countering the various forms of transnational repression experienced by Taiwanese people. The government is working to revise the Anti-Infiltration Act and expects greater attention and support for this work.
Hung Po-chao, deputy director of the Center for Mainland China Studies and Regional Development at Tunghai University, said that relatives of prominent political figures can be valuable sources of information for intelligence services. According to him, protecting the president's immediate relatives, assessing risks and monitoring unusual contacts are already among the duties of Taiwan's and the United States' security services.
In Hung's view, the arrest of the suspect and the filing of criminal charges against her indicate that the surveillance of Lai's family crossed a line for US law enforcement and national security agencies. He also called the US actions a warning to the Chinese government through the judicial system.
