Taipei appealed to Beijing after China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) announcement regarding reports on individuals labelled as “diehard Taiwan independence separatists.”
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), which manages cross-strait affairs, stated on Wednesday that China’s actions will not lead to positive outcomes.
“No matter how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) investigates, wrong actions will only lead to wrong outcomes,” Focus Taiwan reported.The MAC further urged the CCP to reverse its approach to encourage positive relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
The MAC’s statement responded to comments from Chen Binhua, spokesperson for TAO, the Chinese agency handling cross-strait relations.
According to Focus Taiwan, Chen announced that TAO received “hundreds of tips” from individuals on both sides of the Taiwan Strait after creating a system to report “diehard Taiwan independence separatists.”
Chen mentioned that Chinese government agencies would “thoroughly verify and investigate” these reports.
The TAO maintains a list on its website featuring 12 individuals identified as “diehard Taiwan independence separatists,” including Taiwan’s Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim, businessman Robert Tsao, and Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Puma Shen.
Chen stated that “punishing” these individuals is “a just action” that aims to “uphold national sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as protect the essential interests of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.”
The MAC downplayed the significance of the “Taiwan independence list,” claiming it holds no real meaning regardless of the number of names included.