The Deputy Minister of the Mainland Affairs Council, Liang Wen-jie, highlighted today that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) employs nine major patterns of cross-border suppression against Taiwan, and that the targeted individuals continue to expand. According to statistics, from 2005 to the present, the number of individuals subjected to the CCP’s cross-border suppression has reached 131 people, with a total of 149 incidents.
The Legislative Yuan’s Judicial and Legal Affairs Committee invited officials from the Ministry of Justice, the Mainland Affairs Council, and the National Security Bureau today to deliver a special report and respond to inquiries regarding the “invasion of our nation’s democratic rule of law and the basic rights of citizens due to cross-border suppression, as well as legal preventive mechanisms.”
In his report, Liang emphasized that the CCP’s ambition to annex Taiwan and eradicate the Republic of China has remained unchanged. Under the current complex and severe circumstances, the CCP is accelerating its military preparations to invade Taiwan, attempting to compel unification through threats of force and simultaneously intensifying its legal warfare, psychological tactics, and manipulation of public opinion against Taiwan. In recent years, Beijing has stepped up its efforts to promote anti-independence while initiating cross-border suppression, striving for a situation in which it can exert control over Taiwan without formal unification, intimidating all who dare to oppose its actions and pursue freedom.
Liang pointed out that the CCP uses cross-border suppression to shape its jurisdiction over Taiwan and create a chilling effect designed to undermine the sovereignty of the Republic of China. Under the guise of “punishing Taiwan independence,” the CCP enforces cross-border suppression against the Taiwanese populace, claiming that such actions are grounded in its own laws to project territorial control over Taiwan. Even though the CCP cannot actually arrest Taiwanese individuals and bring them to mainland China for sentencing, the repeated messaging that “individuals in Taiwan can be processed as long as the CCP deems them involved in ‘Taiwan independence’ or other political issues” is effective in coercing Taiwanese citizens into self-censorship, leading to the gradual silencing of voices that affirm the Republic of China as a sovereign entity.
The report from the Mainland Affairs Council elaborated on the nine primary patterns of the CCP’s cross-border suppression, which include physical assaults (such as attacks, vandalism, and staged accidents); criminal accountability measures (such as bounty notices, illegal arrests, and judiciary prosecution); psychological pressure (including labeling individuals as staunch supporters of Taiwan independence, associating them with violent groups, and surveilling or stalking them); digital oppression (spreading satellite images of residences or disseminating false information); and border control measures (such as restrictions on entry and exit for the individuals concerned and their families).
Additionally, other patterns encompass collective punishment (threatening or harassing the families, friends, or business associates of victims); economic sanctions (such as limiting trade partners and freezing bank accounts); democratic interference (targeting public officials with intimidation and threats to disrupt the normal functioning of democratic mechanisms); and misuse of judicial processes (obstructing international participation and leveraging international organizations to suppress personal freedoms).
Liang noted that the targets of the CCP’s cross-border suppression have continued to broaden. From 2005 to the present, the tally of individuals affected has reached 131, with 149 specific incidents. These targets encompass politicians, defense and military personnel, judiciary members, academics, and civil society actors.
“The CCP aims to influence all Taiwanese citizens, cripple government operations, and ultimately destroy Taiwan’s democratic system,” Liang asserted. In recent years, the CCP’s cross-border suppression has escalated from mere verbal or legal intimidation to actual threats against personal safety facilitated by accomplices. For instance, a martial arts gym operated by Hong Kong resident Tong Wei-hsiung was vandalized with red paint, journalist Akira Abita was assaulted and injured, legislator Shen Bo-yang had surveillance cameras installed at his residence, and comedian Huang Yi-hao was injured in a fabricated car accident.
Liang emphasized that these brazen acts demonstrate that the CCP’s true goal extends beyond merely “punishing individuals.” Instead, it seeks to “affect whole groups,” or perhaps “everyone,” thus exerting a powerful influence over Taiwanese society and its system of freedoms. The ultimate aim is to paralyze government operations without resorting to war, thereby dismantling Taiwan’s rule of law and democratic institutions.
In response to the CCP’s cross-border suppression, the government has established a communication platform across various agencies. As of April 1 this year, the Executive Yuan has formed a “Cross-Border Suppression Coordination Mechanism” designed to adopt strategies that “raise the costs for perpetrators and reduce losses for victims.” This initiative seeks to disrupt the crime chain of the CCP, which engages in “overseas command and domestic crime,” and is being approached from three major angles: prevention, protection, and countermeasures.
Liang outlined relevant measures and achievements that include: timely assessment of cross-border suppression cases to prevent suspects from leaving the country; adjusting law enforcement thinking so that such cases are not treated as typical criminal matters, leading to the uncovering of underlying foreign influences; planning to provide guidance for the public on handling these issues; collaborating with democratic allies to resist cross-border suppression; improving legal frameworks and addressing any gaps; and actively facilitating public awareness of cross-border suppression while offering necessary assistance to victims.
In conclusion, he remarked that cross-border suppression is not just an infringement on individual legal rights but a manifestation of the CCP extending its political will beyond its borders. Its impact on international order is to “export authoritarian control,” and the challenge it poses to Taiwan’s democratic system threatens national security. In the face of cross-border suppression, Taiwan will “not remain silent in the face of threats,” “not retreat in fear,” and “not abandon its defenses in the name of interaction.” The government will continue to safeguard the safety of its citizens and bolster democratic resilience through preventative measures that span across agencies and borders, a comprehensive and profound protective mechanism, and a robust countermeasure capacity.
During a recent inquiry in the Legislative Yuan, Taiwanese People’s Party legislator Chen Chao-tsu raised concerns regarding the assistance mechanisms for victims of cross-border suppression. In response, Liang disclosed plans to establish a hotline for reporting that would aid affected individuals. He stated that cross-border suppression is an aggressive intervention involving intimidation, harassment, injury, or coercion targeting individuals or communities by foreign hostile forces or their proxies, emphasizing that the only external adversarial force targeting Taiwan is the CCP, with no other foreign entities currently seeking to infringe on Taiwan’s sovereignty.