SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
China sanctions two Taiwanese for 'separatism'
Beijing, Oct 14 (AFP) Oct 14, 2024
China imposed sanctions on two prominent Taiwanese on Monday over alleged "separatism", after it launched large-scale military drills around the self-ruled island.

Businessman Robert Tsao and lawmaker Puma Shen are now barred from entering mainland China or the special administrative regions of Macau and Hong Kong, said Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for Beijing's Taiwan affairs office.

Beijing considers Taiwan part of its own territory and has not ruled out using force to bring it under control.

The Chinese military launched its fourth round of war games targeting Taiwan in just over two years on Monday in what it called a "stern warning" to alleged pro-independence forces on the island.

Tsao's and Shen's family members will face similar bans and any businesses affiliated with them will be barred from "seeking profit" in China.

Chen said Chinese authorities would also block any activity on the mainland by Kuma Academy, a civil-defence training organisation founded by Shen and to which Tsao -- founder of Taiwanese microchip maker United Microelectronics Corporation -- has donated money.

The group aims to prepare ordinary citizens for war and "increase determination to defend and resist invaders, ultimately building a protective shield for our country", according to its website.

Chen accused the two Taiwanese of "nakedly splitting the country, inciting separatism, severely harming the stability of the Taiwan Strait, severely damaging the shared interests of compatriots on both sides of the strait and the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation".

Shen hit out at Beijing's sanctions and told reporters on Monday it was no coincidence they were announced during the drills "since it is China flying the planes, it is clearly China that is actually engaging in provocation".

Tsao called Beijing "an ancient ghostly regime that disregards popular sovereignty" in a Facebook post after the announcement.

Kuma Academy also published a statement on its official Facebook page describing Beijing's accusations as "purely politically motivated, aimed at undermining our mission and silencing voices that support Taiwan's right to self-determination and democratic values".


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
ISS to change commanders before Soyuz crew leaves orbit
NASA prepares new lunar dust and seismic studies for Artemis IV
Astronomers tighten expansion rate gap in universe measurements

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Vacuum annealing boosts efficiency and durability in organic solar cells
MIT engineers design an aerial microrobot that can fly as fast as a bumblebee
Two dimensional crystal reveals hexatic phase in real time

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Kuaizhou 1A launch deploys twin experimental satellites
ICEYE raises EUR 150 million to expand European SAR intelligence capacity
Arms makers see record revenues as global tensions fuel demand

24/7 News Coverage
'You don't need a big brain to fly' and other lessons from the first flying reptiles
Fossil bird shows fatal stone-filled throat and hints of dinosaur bird survival story
Hydrogen plasma method cuts most CO2 from deep sea metal extraction



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.