Days after China threatened to impose tough sentences, including the death penalty, for “diehard supporters” of Taiwanese independence, Taiwan’s government on Thursday raised its travel warning for China, telling its citizens not to visit the country unless absolutely necessary.

According to Reuters, Liang Wen-chieh, spokesperson for Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, said that the raised travel warning also applied to the Chinese-run cities of Hong Kong and Macau.

In new guidelines issued last week, China threatened to impose the death penalty in extreme cases for “diehard” Taiwan independence separatists.

According to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency, the new guidelines say China’s courts, prosecutors, public and state security bodies should “severely punish Taiwan independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession crimes in accordance with the law, and resolutely defend national sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity”.

The guidelines specified death penalty for “ringleaders” of independence efforts who “cause particularly serious harm to the state and the people.” Xinhua said.

Other leading advocates could face jail terms ranging from 10 years to life.

The new guidelines were being issued in accordance with laws already on the books, including the 2005 anti-secession law, Xinhua added. That law gives China the legal basis for military action against Taiwan if it secedes or seems about to.

Liang, making the announcement at a regular news conference in Taipei, said these guidelines represented a serious threat to the safety of Taiwanese visiting China, in addition to other measures China has been taking to strengthen its national security laws.

“If it is not necessary to go, then don’t,” Reuters quoted him as saying.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has made no secret of its dislike of President Lai Ching-te, whom it views as a “separatist”, and staged two days of war games after he took office last month.

With inputs from agencies