The Chinese government has announced it is investigating the Taiwanese legislator Puma Shen Pao-Yang (沈伯洋) for the crime of “separatism,” infringing upon his basic human rights, Human Rights Watch said today.

The government said Shen was being investigated under China’s judiciary guidelines on “punishing Taiwan independence separatists,” making Shen the first person from Taiwan known to be investigated under the guidelines since the Chinese government issued them in June 2024. The Chinese authorities should immediately drop the baseless investigation, Human Rights Watch said.

“The Chinese government’s investigation of Puma Shen reflects escalating efforts to intimidate Taiwanese people about exercising their rights through the cross-border application of abusive Chinese laws,” said Maya Wang, associate Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Beijing is reaching beyond its borders and seeking to declare certain lawful speech and activities as off-limits for Taiwan’s people.”

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Shen, 43, a legislator from Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party, is a prominent advocate against the Chinese government’s disinformation, coercion, and other tactics that aim to manipulate Taiwanese public opinion. Kuma Academy is a nongovernmental “civil defense” organization focused on providing civilians with basic knowledge and skills to prepare for a potential invasion by China. The organization offers classes including first aid, hostile environment simulations, evacuation procedures, disaster relief and rescue protocol, cybersecurity, open-source intelligence, and self-defense martial arts.

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