Separatist detained in Zhejiang province

Yang Chih-yuen, a Taiwan resident suspected of engaging for a long time in separatist activities for "Taiwan independence" and endangering national security, was detained by the State Security Bureau in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, on Wednesday.

Yang, who was born in 1990 and is from Taichung, Taiwan, has been advocating "Taiwan independence" and working with others to establish an illegal organization, the "Taiwanese National Party", aiming to "push for the island to become a sovereign and independent state and join the United Nations", the State Security Bureau said.

He has been planning and carrying out separatist activities for "Taiwan independence" and is suspected of the crimes of attempting to split the State and inciting others to split the State, it said.

Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said that the detainment fully demonstrates that no "Taiwan independence "separatists who defy the law can escape severe punishment.

His detainment came after a spokesperson for the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee made remarks on Wednesday about punishing die-hard "Taiwan independence" separatists in accordance with the law.

A handful of die-hard "Taiwan independence" separatists have recklessly carried out secession activities and served as pawns for external anti-China forces, the spokesperson said in a statement, adding that such acts and remarks must be severely punished in accordance with the law.