China says Taiwanese working in the mainland 'need not worry' after it suggested a death penalty for 'independence die-hards'

• China said Taiwanese workers in the mainland have nothing to fear if they "don't break the law."
• The comment comes as Beijing sparked alarm in June by floating the death penalty for 'diehard' separatists.

China on Wednesday sought to assure Taiwanese employees working in the mainland, saying its recently announced punishments for "separatists" don't apply to them if they "don't break the law."

The comment comes as Beijing issued legal guidelines on June 21 suggesting the death penalty or prison for "Taiwan independence diehards."

The declaration sparked alarm in Taiwan, where officials started restricting tours to China and warning people against traveling to the mainland.

But China's Taiwan Affairs Office has since repeatedly said the punishments only apply to a "very small number" of independence supporters and accused Taiwan of fueling overblown fears of imprisonment or execution.

"This judgment we issued was strictly formulated in accordance with the law, and the targets of punishment are precise and clear," said Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the office, at a Wednesday press conference.

"Taiwan compatriots, including Taiwan employees working in multinational companies, need not worry about anything so long as they don't break the law, and can study, work and live in peace in the mainland," she added.

"Compatriots" is a term often used pointedly by China to describe people of Chinese descent as a way of implying that they should feel loyalty to Beijing because of their roots.

About 163,000 Taiwanese people worked in mainland China in 2021, according to a local report last year, but that number has been steadily decreasing amid building fears of war and Chinese coercion.

Zhu spent much of the press conference praising Chinese programs that encouraged business from Taiwan to the mainland but repeatedly slammed Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te and accused his government of stoking tensions with an "ostrich mentality."

Lai's party has focused its campaigns and cross-strait policy on resisting Beijing as China's rhetoric becomes more hawkish.

The Taiwanese leader has become the main target of China's ire, and Beijing describes him as a proponent of the island declaring independence — a red line for the Chinese government.

Meanwhile, China has said that it would not rule out military intervention to attain control of Taiwan, which Chinese leader Xi Jinping declared inevitable.

Beijing still hopes to extend its influence over parts of the island's population through religious and business programs, such as an entrepreneurship scheme for Taiwanese youth in Zhejiang province.