Mainland China jail term for Taiwanese ‘separatist’ prompts travel warning from Taipei

Yang Chih-yuan, 34, will serve nine years for ‘actively advocating the idea of Taiwan independence’, a red line for Beijing

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Yang Chih-yuan is taken away by national security agents in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, in August 2022. Photo: CCTV

Published: 5:36pm, 7 Sep 2024Updated: 6:46pm, 7 Sep 2024

A Taiwanese political activist has been sentenced to nine years in prison in mainland China on charges of “separatism”, a cross-strait first prompting an official travel warning from Taipei.

Yang Chih-yuan, 34, was formally arrested in April last year, eight months after being detained in the eastern mainland city of Wenzhou.

According to the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), the mainland body overseeing cross-strait matters, Yang was found guilty of “long-term involvement in acts of secession, actively advocating the idea of ‘Taiwan independence’ and playing a key role in ‘Taiwan independence’ organisations such as the ‘Taiwan National Party’.”

He was also accused of attempting to promote “Taiwan’s statehood” and push for Taiwan’s membership in the United Nations, mainland state news agency Xinhua reported, citing TAO spokesman Chen Binhua.

The ruling by the Intermediate People’s Court in Wenzhou, in the coastal province of Zhejiang, was handed down on August 26, but the details were not announced until Friday.

Yang had been taken into custody by national security agents in Wenzhou in August 2022, as then US House speaker Nancy Pelosi concluded a visit to Taiwan and Beijing announced it would crack down on “Taiwanese separatists”. The purpose of his visit to the mainland has not been officially confirmed.