New diktat: China to bar people from mainland if found supporting Taiwan independence

Making their intentions and rivalry with Taiwan very clear, China has, for the first time, announced that Taiwanese politicians who support the island’s independence will face punishment for their actions.

The announcement came from China’s Taiwan affairs office. Taiwanese politicians have been warned that if any politician is found supporting the idea of Taiwan’s independence will be made "criminally liable for life" and will also be forever barred from entering or having any kind of connection with the mainland China.

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To prove their point, the Chinese officials have already named Taiwan's Premier Su Tseng-chang, parliament speaker You Si-kun and foreign minister Joseph Wu as part of the list. The ministers have been labelled as people who are “stubbornly pro-Taiwan independence” and have thus been barred from China.

Also read | China trying to build psychological pressure on Taiwan through jet incursions: Reports

"Those on the list, together with their relatives, shall not enter the mainland and the two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, and their affiliated institutions shall be restricted from forging any cooperation with organisations and individuals on the mainland," Taiwan affairs office spokesperson, Zhu Fenglian said on Friday.

This announcement comes at a time when there have been heightened tensions between China and Taiwan for the past couple of months. China has been accused of building psychological pressure and intimidating Taiwan by sending its planes in the island’s air defense identification zone. Multiple reports have claimed that there has been a massive and sudden increase in the number of Chinese warplanes that have been entering Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ). 

Experts believe that the increase jet incursions and sorties can help China train their pilots and also test Taiwan’s defences.