China Sanctions Political Pundits in Taiwan to Pressure Lai
- Beijing also says it plans new law to punish ‘separatists’
- Lai Ching-te takes over as island’s next leader on Monday
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China said it would sanction five Taiwanese political commentators and roll out a law to punish “separatists,” moves aimed at piling pressure on incoming president Lai Ching-te just days before he takes office.
The pundits’ remarks “deceived some people on the island, incited hostility and confrontation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and hurt the feelings of compatriots on both sides,” Chen Binhua, spokesman for the government department in Beijing that handles affairs related to Taiwan, said at a press briefing on Wednesday.