China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said Taiwan Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) and her nephew Yan Wen-chun (顏文群) “deservedly received punishment” this Wednesday after Yan was reportedly fired from his job over alleged support for Taiwan independence. 

Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhang Han (張晗) said this Wednesday that Interior Minister Liu’s pursuit of Taiwan independence is a criminal act splitting China, and claimed that Yan has long benefited from China while providing political donations to Liu. Zhang said both have been punished according to the law and deserve their punishments.

The MAC clarified Wednesday that Interior Minister Liu had not committed any crime, and that her nephew received a salary from a listed company, not the Chinese government.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) criticized the CCP for using the pretext of “punishing separatists” to carry out cross-border repression, intending to force the public into silence through inappropriate implication and pressure on businesses.

The CCP is carrying out “cross-border repression,” the council argued, by implicating relatives and putting pressure on businesses with the intention to force the public into silence. The MAC says this matter reflects the CCP’s deliberate use of publicly available information on political donations to maliciously fabricate and carry out political retaliation, while also dividing Taiwanese society. They argue that it is necessary to reconsider the appropriateness of the current system to prevent hostile foreign forces from harming Taiwan’s national security.

Liu told the public to carefully consider whether or not to go to China, as their personal safety and property can be threatened, which Zhang said is an attempt to drag other people down with her.