Taiwan sentences Chinese spouse to 8 years for united front activities

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/6873496

Archived version

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Zhou Manzhi was convicted by the High Court's Kaohsiung branch of establishing and leading organizations for new immigrants in Taiwan under the direction of groups linked to China’s united front system, in violation of the [Taiwanese] National Security Act.

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According to the ruling, Zhou entered Taiwan in 2014 and later obtained a Taiwanese identity card through marriage. She went on to establish and chair the Kaohsiung New Residents Sisters Care Association in 2016 and the Taiwan New Residents Care Association in 2019.

The court found that both groups operated under the instruction of Cui Guowei, chief executive of China’s Shaanxi Patriotic Volunteer Association, which authorities determined is controlled by Beijing’s united front system. Zhou was instructed to form auxiliary organizations in Taiwan, the court said.

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In 2017, Zhou traveled to China to meet Huang Lanxiang, head of the United Front Work Department of Hunan Province, to seek sponsorship for developing organizations in Taiwan. In May of the following year, she again traveled to China to meet Cui and others, signing an agreement to carry out united front work in Taiwan, according to the court.

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The court [also] cited evidence from the National Security Bureau showing that the Shaanxi Patriotic Volunteer Association operates under China’s united front system. It concluded that Zhou formed the organizations in Taiwan under Chinese instruction and actively planned and carried out activities with clear united front objectives, posing a threat to national security and social stability.