On December 24, 2025, the Weihai Municipal Public Security Bureau in East China's Shandong Province issued a wanted notice stating that in June 2025, during an investigation into a suspect surnamed Liu and six other mainland crew members of the "Hongtai 58," police uncovered a smuggling syndicate led by Taiwan residents Jian Wensheng and Chen Shunjin. Photo: Screenshot of a notice from the bureau

Following mainland public security investigations, two Taiwan residents, surnamed Chien and Chen, were identified as repeat smuggling offenders who controlled vessels including the Hongtai 58 to carry out long-term smuggling of frozen goods into the mainland. Public security authorities have issued wanted notices for the two individuals, hoping that compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits will actively provide clues related to illegal and criminal activities, Peng Qing'en, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said on Wednesday. 

Relevant authorities will strictly protect informants' personal information and lawful rights in accordance with the law, Peng said.

Peng made those remarks during a press conference in response to a question about the case and claims by the DPP authorities in February that the damage to cross-Straits undersea cables caused by Hongtai 58 was an act of "deliberate sabotage" by the mainland and constituted a "gray-zone harassment." 

The Hongtai 58 incident that occurred in February was in fact the result of Chien and Chen operating the vessel to engage in smuggling activities, Peng said.

This case is of great significance, as it is not only a representative judicial case but also a clear political mirror, some mainland experts on Taiwan affairs said on Wednesday. 

It plainly shows the outside world who is acting on the basis of facts and in accordance with the law, and who is manipulating cognitive warfare and distorting right and wrong, Zheng Jian, a professor at the Taiwan Research Institute of Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

Some media outlets on the island of Taiwan also paid attention to the wanted notice issued by the mainland authorities. 

Taiwan media UDN reported on Wednesday that in February, a Togolese-flagged cargo vessel, the Hongtai 58 was suspected of dragging and severing the Taiwan-Penghu submarine cable, triggering discussions about the "gray-zone" activities targeting Taiwan. The media also claimed that the captain of the vessel surnamed Wang, who is believed to come from the mainland, was sentenced to three years in prison.

Disregarding the facts of the case, the DPP authorities maliciously hyped claims of "gray-zone harassment" by the mainland in an attempt to provoke confrontation and antagonism across the Taiwan Straits, Peng said, sternly warning the DPP authorities that shielding and condoning smuggling crimes while exploiting them for political manipulation to undermine cross-Straits relations will inevitably be met with joint opposition from compatriots on both sides of the Straits and will ultimately backfire.

This was originally a typical criminal case, but it was deliberately turned into a political incident by the DPP authorities. Through political manipulation, they attempted to conceal the true identities of those operating behind the scenes and to block the dissemination of the truth, Zheng noted. 

The mainland's recent lawful judicial and administrative actions, including the issuance of wanted notices, constitute a strong rebuttal to this political maneuvering and directly expose the truth the DPP authorities sought to hide. Similar situations have frequently occurred in the DPP authorities' other unfounded accusations against the mainland, Zheng added. 

Also on Wednesday morning, the Weihai Municipal Public Security Bureau in East China's Shandong Province issued a wanted notice stating that in June 2025, during an investigation into a suspect surnamed Liu and six other mainland crew members of the Hongtai 58, police uncovered a smuggling syndicate led by Taiwan residents Chien Wensheng and Chen Shunjin. 

The two had been placed on an online wanted list by the Zhangzhou Customs Anti-Smuggling Bureau in Fujian Province in 2014 for suspected smuggling of waste. The group allegedly controlled multiple vessels, including the Togolese-registered Hongtai 58, to carry out long-term smuggling of frozen goods into the mainland, according to a statement published by the bureau on its WeChat account. 

The bureau said it is now offering rewards for the arrest of Jian and Chen in accordance with the law and called on the public to actively provide clues. Individuals who provide effective information to public security authorities or assist in the capture of the criminal suspects will be rewarded with between 50,000 yuan ($7,100) and 250,000 yuan, depending on the circumstances.

This incident also demonstrates the mainland's firm resolve to govern maritime affairs in accordance with the law, protect critical civilian infrastructure and safeguard the shared interests of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, said another mainland expert. 

"If, in cases of such cross-border illegal and criminal activities, the DPP authorities fail to strengthen oversight or cooperate in law enforcement efforts to combat smuggling, and instead package criminal acts as political bargaining chips, they are in effect condoning crime, ultimately harming the well-being of people on both sides of the Straits, including Taiwan compatriots," Zhu Songling, a Taiwan studies professor at Beijing Union University, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

Against this backdrop, the remarks by the spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council were both timely and necessary, effectively exposing the relevant falsehoods propagated by the DPP authorities, Zhu said.