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It is the first time Beijing has concretely imposed penalties for people deemed pro-Taiwan independence, as tensions escalate between China and Taiwan, the island China claims as its own.
The office named Taiwan Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang, Parliament Speaker You Si-kun and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu as stubbornly pro-Taiwan independence.
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The office also announced for the first time that it had compiled a list of people who fell into the category of supporters of Taiwan independence.
The spokesman for the office, Zhu Fenglian, said China would impose penalties on people on the blacklist, by not allowing them to enter mainland China and the Chinese Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
“Blacklisted persons will not be allowed to cooperate with entities or persons from the mainland, nor will the companies or entities that fund them be allowed to profit from the mainland. [China],” he said, as quoted Reuters.
Taiwanese politicians usually rely on donations from companies to fund their election campaigns. Many Taiwanese companies benefit from doing business with mainland China.
“China will also take other necessary action against these people,” Zhu continued, referring to Taiwan’s independence supporters.
He said the message China wanted to send to Taiwan’s independence supporters was: “Those who forget their ancestors, betray the homeland and divide the country, will never end well and will be rejected by the people and judged by history.”
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