China lists ‘diehard Taiwan separatists,’ announces sanctions

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – China on Tuesday announced a list of “diehard Taiwan separatists” and imposed various sanctions on them.

Taiwanese Parliament Vice-Speaker Tsai Chi-chang, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and Taipei’s Washington Representative Bi-khim Hsiao are among those listed by Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

“We seriously warn diehard ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists to avoid going down the wrong path further. Anyone who deliberately challenges the law will face severe punishment,” the spokesperson for CPC Taiwan Work Office said in a statement.

The decision is meant “to safeguard the peaceful development of the cross-Strait relations and the immediate interests of the people on both sides of the Strait, and resolutely punish ‘Taiwan independence’ diehard elements,” the spokesperson said.

“The names of diehard separatists announced today are only a part of the list,” said the spokesperson.

The spokesperson said the sanctioned Taiwanese people and their family members “are banned from entering the mainland and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao.”

“Their affiliated institutions are restricted from forging cooperation with relevant organizations and individuals on the mainland. The enterprises related to them, as well as their sponsors, are prohibited from engaging in profit-making activities on the mainland. Other punitive measures will also be taken. They will be held to lifelong accountability according to law,” the spokesperson added.

The announcement comes as two delegations of US lawmakers, including one led by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, traveled to Taiwan this month against the wishes of Beijing.

“Actions seeking ‘Taiwan independence’ constitute the biggest obstacle to China's reunification and a grave danger to the national rejuvenation. For some time, a few diehard separatist elements, out of their own interests, have gone to their lengths to collude with external forces in provocations advocating ‘Taiwan independence’,” the CPC office said.

The sanctioned people were accused of “deliberately instigated confrontations across the Taiwan Strait, and recklessly undermined peace and stability in the region.”

“Their activities became all the more egregious during the visit by Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi to China's Taiwan region, further exposing their obstinate nature in seeking ‘Taiwan independence’,” the spokesperson said.

“The Chinese mainland will never tolerate any kind of activity to split the country, will never allow any external force to interfere in its national reunification, and will leave no room for separatist activities seeking ‘Taiwan independence’ in any form,” said the spokesperson.