China using ‘lawfare’ to coerce Taiwan: Australian think tankBy Hollie Younger / Staff writer, with CNAChina has built an “army of lawyers” to intimidate and constrain Taiwan, threatening “long-arm jurisdiction” beyond its own borders to persecute what it calls “die-hard Taiwan independence separatists,” the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) said in a report released on Tuesday. Taiwan is the target,” said that Beijing’s “lawfare campaign” last year shifted from declaratory threats to active enforcement. The “trend sits alongside a more overt legal escalation: Beijing’s move to ‘prosecute’ alleged Taiwanese ‘separatists,’” the report said. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been targeting political figures, social media influencers and Taiwanese who travel to China, it said. “These actions are intended to chill political speech, constrain international engagement with Taiwan, and signal that support for Taiwanese democracy carries personal costs,” it added.

Source: Taipei Times February 12, 2026 08:56 UTC