Chen Binhua, spokesperson from the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council,

Two individuals in the island of Taiwan-Liu Shyh-fang and Cheng Ying-yao-have been listed as diehard "Taiwan independence" separatists and will be subject to punishment in accordance with the law, Chen Binhua, spokesperson from the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, announced on Wednesday. 

Liu serves as the head of Taiwan's so-called "interior affairs department," and Cheng is head of the so-called "education department" of the island. 

Liu and Cheng have repeatedly committed egregious "Taiwan independence" acts, which have aroused strong indignation among compatriots on both sides of the Straits. Many people have reported the two individuals to the Taiwan Affairs Office, calling for legal punishment to be imposed on these two figures, Chen said.

Liu has openly propagated fallacious "Taiwan independence" separatist theories, aggressively suppressed Taiwan individuals who support or participate in cross-Straits exchanges and cooperation, persecuted mainland spouses living in Taiwan, and gone to great lengths to erect barriers to cross-Straits personnel exchanges and to block channels of communication between people on both sides of the Straits, the spokesperson said. 

Cheng has vigorously promoted provocative rhetoric advocating "Taiwan independence," organized the compilation of "Taiwan independence" teaching materials to poison the minds of young people on the island, and obstructed cross-Straits educational exchanges and cooperation, Chen continued. 

Both Liu and Cheng are obstinate in their "Taiwan independence" ideology, arrogant in their separatist rhetoric, and egregious in their separatist actions. They have openly sought to split the country and incited separatism, seriously undermining cross-Straits exchanges and cooperation, gravely harming the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations, and severely damaging the interests and well-being of compatriots on both sides of the Straits, Chen said. 

In accordance with relevant laws and regulations, the mainland has decided to place Liu and Cheng on the list of diehard "Taiwan independence" separatists and impose sanctions on them. 

The two individuals included in the list are chiefly involved in specific administrative actions and institutional projects, such as erecting barriers to cross-Straits personnel exchanges and blocking channels of communication, obstructing cross-Straits educational exchanges, and compiling teaching materials involving "Taiwan independence." In other words, the focus is on those who translate "seeking independence" into the routine exercise of public power, Zhu Songling, a professor at the Institute of Taiwan Studies of Beijing Union University, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

"The damage such individuals inflict on cross-Straits relations is more sustained and systemic," Zhu said. 

Liu and Cheng, as well as their family members, will be prohibited from entering the mainland and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions. Their affiliated institutions will be restricted from engaging in cooperation with relevant organizations and individuals on the mainland, and their associated enterprises and financial backers will be strictly barred from seeking profits on the mainland. 

Other necessary punitive measures will also be taken, and they will be held legally accountable for life in accordance with the law. The spokesperson also noted that compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits are welcome to continue providing information and clues regarding the illegal and criminal activities of Liu and Cheng.

This round of measures places the mainland, Hong Kong, and Macao under a unified entry ban and extends restrictions to cooperation with affiliated institutions and related interest networks, effectively tightening both "external access channels" and "channels of gaining benefits" at the same time, Zhu said. 

"Taiwan independence" separatism is a grave threat to the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations. Punishing in accordance with the law a very small number of diehard "Taiwan independence" separatists is intended to fundamentally safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity and to protect the legitimate interests and well-being of Taiwan compatriots. It is by no means directed at the vast majority of Taiwan compatriots, Chen noted. 

It is hoped that Taiwan compatriots will clearly recognize the harmful nature, sinister intentions, and ugly true colors of the small number of diehard "Taiwan independence" separatists, consciously draw a clear line between themselves and figures such as Liu and Cheng, resolutely oppose "Taiwan independence" separatist activities, firmly promote cross-Straits exchanges, cooperation, and integrated development, safeguard the common home of the Chinese nation, and jointly create lasting well-being for compatriots on both sides of the Straits, the spokesperson said. 

Some media in the island also closely followed and reported the mainland's measures on Wednesday. 

"It's not the first time to take such move!" China Times said, naming a number of diehard "Taiwan independence" separatists included into the mainland's list such as Jaushieh Joseph Wu and Su Tseng-chang. 

The island-based United Daily News also reported the measures with an attached picture of a screenshot of a column from the website of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council to report the diehard "Taiwan independence" separatists. 

Chen also announced on Wednesday that Chen Shuyi, described as a "green judicial enforcer," has been listed as an accomplice and henchman of "Taiwan independence" forces and will be held legally accountable for life in accordance with the law. 

An investigation revealed that Chen Shuyi acted as an accomplice to "Taiwan independence" forces, fabricating charges and persecuting Taiwan individuals who support cross-Straits exchanges and cooperation, intimidating the Taiwan public, and creating a "green terror." Her actions were egregious and her crimes serious, the spokesperson said. 

The scope of targets is expanding, from the "security" and "foreign affairs" sphere to the "society-education-judicial" domain. This time, a prosecutor has also been designated as a "henchman and accomplice" and subjected to "lifelong accountability," which signals that in the future, attention may be directed more frequently at specific "chains of execution," such as judicial and prosecutorial bodies, regulatory agencies, as well as textbook and cultural systems, Zhu noted. 

"The aim is to sever key nodes that institutionalize opposition to cross-Straits exchanges and the process of 'de-Sinicization,'" Zhu said. 

In response to a question that how many people are currently on these lists of diehard "Taiwan independence" separatists and "Taiwan independence" henchmen and accomplices, and whether the mainland will further step up punitive measures and bring them to justice while some public opinion on the island claimed that the mainland's punitive measures have had no substantive impact on these individuals and have instead become so-called "medals" for them to flaunt, Chen said "Taiwan independence" elements are illegal criminals who seek to split the country and undermine cross-Straits relations. 

They are also national traitors who pursue "independence" and provoke conflict, harming the interests and well-being of compatriots. To date, we have announced 14 individuals as diehard "Taiwan independence" separatists and 12 individuals as "Taiwan independence" henchmen and accomplices, Chen said. 

Anyone who dares to defy the law, no matter where they are, will be subjected to all necessary measures. They will be punished in accordance with the law and held legally accountable for life, the spokesperson added.