Taipei—Taiwan President Lai Ching-te asserted on Monday that democracy is not a crime, contrasting it with what he described as the true “evil” of autocracy. His comments came after China threatened severe penalties, including the death penalty in extreme cases, for staunch advocates of Taiwan’s independence.

China, asserting Taiwan as its own territory, has openly criticized Lai since his recent inauguration, labeling him a “separatist” and conducting military exercises in response.

In response to China’s latest measures, Lai addressed a press conference at the presidential office in Taipei.

“I want to stress: democracy is not a crime; it’s autocracy that is the real evil. China has absolutely no right to sanction Taiwan’s people just because of the positions they hold. What’s more, China has no right to go after Taiwan people’s rights across borders,” he said.

According China, anyone who does not uphold “reunification” is therefore a Taiwan independence supporter, Lai added.

“I also want to call on China to face up to the existence of the Republic of China and have exchanges and dialogue with Taiwan’s democratically elected, legitimate government,” he said, using Taiwan’s formal name. “If this is not done, relations between Taiwan and China will only become more and more estranged.”

Lai maintains Taiwan’s independence from Beijing’s sovereignty claims and insists that the island’s future should be determined by its people. Despite repeated offers for dialogue with China, Lai has been consistently rebuffed.

China has declared that any move by Taiwan toward formal independence could provoke military action.

The Taipei government asserts that Taiwan is already an independent nation, the Republic of China, and has no intention of altering its status. The Republic of China government relocated to Taiwan in 1949 following its defeat in the Chinese civil war against Mao Zedong’s Communists.