On December 12, 2024, the Secretary-General of the National Security Council of the Republic of China (Taiwan), David Lee, participated in a video conference hosted by a Washington-based think tank and delivered a speech. He stated that the Chinese Communist Party’s issuance of the “Maritime Police Order No. 3” is an attempt to provide legal excuses for its abuse of force and harassment of neighboring countries in order to facilitate authoritarian expansion. Countries with similar ideologies should unite to defend the way of life based on freedom and democracy.
The National Security Council of the Republic of China issued a press release stating that the Hudson Institute, in collaboration with the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Security Institute of George Mason University, held a seminar titled “Sanctioned Voices: Spotlighting China’s Global Repression” on the 12th. The event was moderated by former Chief Advisor of the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff, Mo-Chun Yu.
The conference invited Secretary-General David Lee of the Taiwanese National Security Council, Dan Twining, President of the National Democratic Institute (NED) Wilson, as well as democratic and human rights movement leaders from Hong Kong and Xinjiang to participate in the discussion. One of the common characteristics of the attendees is that they have all been listed on China’s sanction list.
During his speech, David Lee pointed out that since 2021, the Chinese Communist Party has imposed sanctions on many Taiwanese officials, elected representatives, private entrepreneurs, and opinion leaders. In June of this year, China even issued the so-called “22 Opinions on Punishing Stubborn Taiwanese Separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to convict individuals without trial. While the norms and laws of China have no binding force on the people of Taiwan, it shows China’s malicious intent in recent years to actively intimidate the Taiwanese people with “legal warfare.”
David Lee emphasized that the Chinese Communist Party has distorted the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 and issued the so-called “Maritime Police Order” in an attempt to provide a legal pretext for its abuse of force and harassment of neighboring countries along the first island chain. This is an attempt to create a chilling effect to facilitate its own authoritarian expansion. Countries with similar ideologies should stand united to defend the way of life based on freedom and democracy.
Furthermore, David Lee joked that the Chinese Communist Party had sanctioned the wrong person as he has rigorously defended the status quo across the Taiwan Strait for many years, which is completely contrary to Beijing’s accusations. Being listed alongside Dr. Mo-Chun Yu and Director Dan Twining as fighters for democracy and freedom, he feels deeply honored.
NED President Wilson stated that China not only uses sanctions to legitimize its repression of human rights movements but also tries to manipulate false public opinion by claiming that millions of democracy activists are subject to “foreign interference.”
Director Dan Twining of the IRI emphasized that Taiwan is at the forefront of defending democratic and freedom values, especially compared to China’s authoritarian rule. The freedom and prosperity enjoyed by Taiwan make it an aspiration for people worldwide.
Since 2019, American leaders and think tanks sanctioned by China include not only Director Twining and Dr. Mo-Chun Yu, the Hudson Institute, the International Republican Institute, the International Democratic Association, and the National Democratic Institute who participated in this event, but also Senator Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former White House National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, former White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro, Freedom House, and Human Rights Watch, among others, who have been sanctioned by China at different times for various reasons.