Today, Taiwanese President Lai Chin (William Lai) said that democracy is not a crime and autocracy is the real "evil", quoted by Reuters and BTA.
He said this after China threatened to impose the death penalty as a last resort for "die-hard separatists" who want Taiwan independence.
China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory, has made no secret of its distaste for Lai, who took office last month, saying he "is a separatist". Beijing held military exercises shortly after he took office, Reuters notes.
China stepped up its pressure on Taiwan on Friday, issuing new legal guidelines to punish those it says support the island's formal independence, although Chinese courts have no jurisdiction over the democratically-ruled island, according to Reuters.
Requested for comment on China's move at a press conference at the presidential office in Taipei, Lai first expressed his sympathy for the recent flooding in southern China before responding.
"I want to emphasize - democracy is not a crime, the real evil is autocracy. China has absolutely no right to impose sanctions on the Taiwanese just because of the positions they hold. Moreover, China has no right to pursue the rights of the Taiwanese people across the borders," he said.
According to China, anyone who does not support "unification" is a supporter of Taiwan independence, Lai added.
"I also want to call on China to recognize the existence of the Republic of China and carry out exchanges and dialogue with the democratically elected, legitimate government of Taiwan," he added, using Taiwan's official name. "If this is not done, relations between Taiwan and China will only become more and more estranged," Lai pointed out
Lai rejects Beijing's claims to sovereignty over the island and insists that only the people of Taiwan can decide their future. He has repeatedly offered to negotiate with China, but has been refused.
China claims that any move by Taiwan to declare formal independence would be grounds for an attack on the island.
The government in Taipei says that Taiwan is already an independent country - the Republic of China - and that it has no plans to change that. The Republican government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong's Communists.