China has vowed to punish “diehard” politicians supporting Taiwan

The People’s Republic has taken aim at politicians who support Taiwan, threatening to ban them from the country as tensions rise.

China will punish “diehard” Taiwan politicians as tensions continue to rise between the two Asian nations.

China has repeatedly pushed the limits with Taiwan by flexing its military muscle near the island. Missile tests have been fired off nearby and Chinese fighter jets have flown through Taiwan’s airspace.

The People’s republic claims Taiwan as its own territory, to be seized one day, and has intensified its pressure on the island in recent years.

A J-10 fighter jet attached to an aviation brigade of the air force fires rockets at mock ground targets while taking a nosedive during a recent penetration flight training exercise. Picture: PLA

The Taiwan Affairs Office, in Beijing, has ramped up its rhetoric saying that “the mainland will pursue criminal responsibility for Taiwan independence diehards in accordance with the law, to be effective for life”, threatening to ban them from China.

It named Premier Su Tseng-chang, parliament speaker Yu Shyi-kun and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu as among a minority of independence supporters that could be banned.

Taiwan’s Su on Friday brushed off the threat from Beijing, saying he “won’t be intimidated”.

“It doesn’t (rule) Taiwan for one day but it’s bossing Taiwan around,” Su said of Beijing when asked about the list of ’diehards’ in parliament.

Recently seen in Wenzhou 温州. What’s going on? #Taiwan#Beijing#Chinapic.twitter.com/y700AbyaQX

— Xiao Hu (@realirishberlin) November 2, 2021

The tension began when the nationalist Kuomintang party fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing the Chinese civil war.

The island of 24 million people is a vibrant democracy and major tech hub. Beijing-Taipei ties have plunged since Tsai rose to power in 2016.

The war of words came as an alarming new Pentagon report revealed Beijing planned to ramp up its arsenal to 1000 nukes by 2030.

While that number would still be well below the US’ nuclear warhead stockpile, it has experts on edge as China has refused to participate in global arms control discussions.

It is also a major jump from America’s 2020 estimate that China’s stockpile would double from the low 200s over the next 10 years.

The timing of the report has also raised eyebrows, as it comes just hours after US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley warned that China was planning “one of the largest shifts in global geostrategic power that the world has witnessed”.