Chinese Laws Claim Jurisdiction: Experts

Experts said Monday that new Chinese legal guidelines aimed at Taiwan independence advocates, including allowing trials in absentia, are aimed at gaining jurisdiction.

The guidelines, issued on Friday with immediate effect, allow courts in China to try in absentia “Taiwanese independence separatists”, while “staunch” independence defenders convicted of inciting secession who also cause “serious damage to the (Chinese) state and people” could be sentenced sentenced to death, Xinhua news agency reported.

Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致), director of the China Taiwan Research Center Thinktank, said that if a trial in absentia ends in a conviction under China’s opaque judicial system, the defendant could be subject to an international arrest warrant.

Once such a warrant is issued, China will inform countries with which it has a mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) or other forms of legal agreements that the person sought is a Chinese national, Wu said.

A trial in absentia would enforce Beijing’s “one China” principle over Taiwan, claiming China exercises sovereignty over Taiwan and treating it as a domestic matter, Wu added.

This could put pressure on other countries, especially those that have MLAT or friendly diplomatic relations with China, to assist in related arrests or extraditions, he said, adding that this long-armed jurisdiction is intended to provide jurisdiction over Taiwan.

However, Wu said many democratic countries provide assistance to those involved in political affairs and will not extradite them to China.

That’s especially true given China’s weakened global influence, making it harder for Beijing to use economic incentives or pressure to get other nations to cooperate as it has in the past, he said.

Thirty-nine countries have extradition treaties with China, including popular Taiwanese destinations such as South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand, according to data from the Chinese Ministry of Justice.

There are also 55 countries that have signed mutual legal assistance treaties with China in criminal matters, including the US, Japan and Australia, which mainly rely on information gathering and exchange.

The timing of China’s move was also significant, said Arthur Wang (王智盛), secretary general of the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association and an expert on cross-strait relations.

He said the new guidelines were issued on Friday last week because the date was about a month after the May 20 inauguration of President William Lai (賴清德).

“After a month of observation, they (Chinese officials) found they could not stop Lai’s reaction (to cross-strait relations),” Wang said. “Therefore, I believe it was a ready-made legal tool in their toolbox to impose sanctions on Taiwan.”

In his inaugural speech on May 20, Lai called on Beijing to recognize the Taiwan government and reiterated his position that the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other.

Despite criticism from Beijing, which said the statement “confirms Taiwan’s independence,” Lai on May 30 said what he said was true and he had no intention of provoking.

Asked why Chinese authorities had adopted a legal approach, Wang said China had changed its strategy from infiltration and cognition warfare against Taiwan to a new type of legal warfare.

This new strategy uses legal discourse to assert China’s sovereignty and jurisdiction over Taiwan, backed by its influence on international law, he said.

“Chinese warplanes circling Taiwan and crossing the median line have become a tried-and-true tactic,” Wang said. “But this new kind of legal warfare could generate new concerns and pressure among the Taiwanese.”

He said China is struggling to find a strategy to counter the internationalization of the Taiwan issue, leading its authorities to seek a fundamental solution through legal means.

“By defining Taiwan’s independence and establishing long-term jurisdiction and in absentia trials, China aims to limit further internationalization of the Taiwan issue and prevent any subsequent adverse impact on Taiwan policy,” Wang said.