The Communist regime in China says it will hold those who support Taiwan independence criminally liable for life, including top officials in the Taiwan government.
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) released a list of names of blacklisted individuals on Friday, which includes Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang, Parliament Speaker You Si-kun and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu.
Those named in the list will not be allowed to enter mainland China and its Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau, according to PRC spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian.
Further, blacklisted individuals will not be allowed to cooperate with entities or people from the mainland, nor will their companies or entities that fund them.
“Those who forget their ancestors, betray the motherland and split the country, will never end up well, and will be spurned by the people and judged by history,” Zhu said.
In response, the Taiwan government said it is a society with a rule of law and is not ruled by Beijing.
“We do not accept intimidation and threats from an autocratic and authoritarian region,” Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said.
The council said it would take the “necessary countermeasures to safeguard the safety and well-being of the people.”
In recent weeks, China has conducted aerial military exercises in the region including flying nuclear-capable bombers into Taiwan’s air defence zone.
Recently Taiwanese diplomat Taipei Economic Cultural Office Director General Lihsin Angel Liu called on the Canadian government to offer “more support” for the country as it tries to find acceptance from the international community.
Critics of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have accused him of being soft on China and not doing enough to make it clear that its aggression towards Taiwan is not acceptable.
“The Liberal government has been promising a new framework for relations with China for years,” Conservative MP Garnett Genuis told True North earlier this month.
“It is clear that the Liberal government is missing in action when it comes to responding to the domestic and international challenges posed by the Chinese Communist Party.”
