Beijing dials up pressure with bounty notice targeting 18 military officers from Taiwan

Move seen as largely symbolic with little practical effect since island has its own govt

- Yip Wai Yee Taiwan Correspondent

China's issuing of a bounty notice targeting 18 alleged Taiwanese military officers for activities it described as separatist is intended to stoke fear and alarm, but the move is largely symbolic with little practical effect.

It is also part of Beijing's attempt to dial up the pressure on Taiwan through legal means, analysts told The Straits Times.

“China is trying to create the false impression that it has jurisdiction over Taiwan, and assert the claim that Taiwan is part of its internal affairs,” said Associate Professor Chen Shih-min, a political science analyst at the National Taiwan University.

Beijing sees Taiwan as its own territory and has, in recent years, ramped up military, economic and political pressure tactics against the island.

But Chinese courts have no jurisdiction over Taiwan, which has its own government and judicial system.

“The notice has little substantial effect,” said Prof Chen, who added that it is highly unlikely that Taiwanese military officers would ever travel across the strait where they could run into trouble.

“They are very cautious, so they wouldn't even go to Beijing-friendly countries like Cambodia, which has an extradition treaty with China,” he added.

Chinese police issued the notice online on Oct 11, offering rewards of up to 10,000 yuan (S$1,820) for information about people whom it said were Taiwanese military psychological operations officers spreading separatist messages.

The document was striking: The photos of 18 men and women, alongside their names and identity card numbers, were published in three neat rows.