China’s national unity measures

On August 28, China’s military demonstrated ample vigilance as US warships made unauthorized passes through the Taiwan Strait, a fitting example of Beijing’s determination to protect its territorial integrity. “Units of the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) Eastern Combat Command escorted the US cruisers, exercising full control over their activities. The command units remain on heightened alert to stop any provocations in a timely manner,” read a statement from PLA’s Eastern Theater Command.

Such a heightened sense of responsibility is consistent with China’s demonstrated resolve to protect its sovereign interests at all costs, even in the face of foreign designs. It arrives at a time when the US continues to use so-called ‘freedom of navigation’ operations in the sensitive Taiwan Strait to sustain interference, despite Beijing’s repeated warnings. But understand this: punitive sanctions by Beijing against several anti-China elements and Taiwan secessionists have already made clear that foreign interference in the region will only end one way: the one-China principle and peaceful reunification will prevail.

Look back to August 16. The Chinese mainland announced legitimate sanctions on ‘Taiwan independence’ diehards, banning them and their family members from entry to the mainland, and prohibiting their affiliated institutions and enterprises from profit-making and cooperation. These swift penalties also arrived on the day that Zheng Zeguang, China’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, penned a very strong defence of Chinese countermeasures against pro-independence messaging, warning Britain of ‘serious consequences to bilateral relations’ if it violates the one-China principle. Washington has been separately warned that if it doesn’t show restraint on the Taiwan question, it will give strength to ‘another round of tensions.’

It is thus in the chief interests of China’s diplomatic partners to draw the right lessons from punitive sanctions imposed on Taiwan separatists, and understand that no ‘Taiwan independence’ force will ever escape the iron-grip of law.

First, banning diehard secessionists from entering the mainland, as well as key special administrative regions, makes it clear to the likes of the US that the mainland is not short of any precision measures to stamp-out separatists. Consider the fact that in the lead-up to mainland sanctions, some diehards were busy lobbying against China’s legitimate measures to defend the spirit of national reunification. These developments underline the centrality of the mainland’s hard hit sanctions against separatists, and the penalties’ key role in singling out elements that have gone to enormous ‘lengths to collude with external forces,’ endangering long-term peace and stability. From a diplomatic standpoint, the sanctions also serve as a clinical endorsement of the view that the Taiwan question is a ‘major issue of principle’ and that there shouldn’t be ‘any miscalculation’ when it comes to Beijing’s redlines.

Further on the utility of sanctions – including those imposed on the president of the ‘Taiwan Foundation for Democracy’ and the secretary general of the ‘International Cooperation and Development Fund’ – one can base their effectiveness on two considerations. First, these sanctions are ‘targeted’ by design, thereby having no spillover costs for the mainland or the Taiwan region. Consider the fact that their implementation deals a ‘lifelong accountability’ strike to diehard secessionists as well as specific organizations found guilty of facilitating ‘pro-independence’ campaigning for a long time. There is thus a clear sense of determination about which diehard secessionist elements the mainland is targeting. At the same time, these same sanctions give Beijing wide latitude to up the ante further if it finds separatist activities manifest ‘in any form’ in the future.

The second rationale for their effectiveness is accordance with the rule of law. It is a fact that the reunification of the motherland is enshrined in the preamble of China’s constitution. Sanctions are built on that constitutional spirit by giving concrete shape to the lifelong accountability of pro-independence secessionists. The resulting cohesion between reunification goals and legal countermeasures sends a fitting reminder to ‘pro-independence’ forces (and their silent overseas supporters) about China’s absolute sovereignty over all its internal affairs, chiefly the Taiwan question and its legal grounding. “We seriously warn diehard ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists to avoid going down the wrong path further. Anyone who deliberately challenges the law will face severe punishment,” affirmed the spokesperson of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

Interestingly, there is no doubt that sanctioned officials with the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, as well as the International Cooperation and Development Fund, had it coming big time. Their sustained proximity to secessionists, refusal to adhere to the mainland’s warnings, and low-key links with pro-independence donors overseas , remove all doubt about threatening the stability of the cross-strait ecosystem. It is precisely this sustained collusion with external forces that makes it critical to quash separatist messaging of all types, and ensure that national rejuvenation remains front and centre of cross-strait relations.

Ultimately, China’s punitive sanctions on diehard secessionists, and its issuance of fresh diplomatic warnings overseas, makes a fundamental point clear: that pro-independence provocations are destined to hit a brick wall, and that Beijing’s determination to respond should never be underestimated.

The writer is a foreign affairs commentator and recipient of the Fulbright Award