Photo taken on July 21, 2019 from Xiangshan Mountain shows the Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, southeast China's Taiwan.(Photo: Xinhua)

 
China's top office on the Taiwan affairs - the Taiwan Work Office of Communist Party of China Central Committee - announced on Friday to sanction diehard "Taiwan independence" separatist Hsiao Bi-khim, who colluded with the US and provoked confrontation between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits. Hsiao and her family members are prohibited from entering the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao. 

The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council announced on Friday sanctions of two institutions - the Prospect Foundation and the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats - which, under the guidance of the DPP authorities, used the excuses of “democracy,” “freedom” and “cooperation” to advocate for “Taiwan independence” and colluded with anti-China forces to create “one China, one Taiwan” or “two Chinas” that violate the one-China principle. 

People in charge of these two institutions are prohibited from entering the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, and organizations and individuals in the mainland are forbidden from cooperating with them, said Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson of the office.

The announcement came after the latest meeting between Taiwan regional leader Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday - an erroneous move that delivered a heavy blow to already strained US-China relations, damaged the political foundation of the two countries, and made the cross-Straits situation more intense. China said on Thursday that it will adopt firm and resolute measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Hsiao colluded with the US and intentionally provoked the confrontation between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits and damaged the peace and stability in the region, which fully exposed her ill-intentioned motives of seeking "Taiwan independence," a spokesperson from the Taiwan Work Office of CPC Central Committee said on Friday.

The Chinese mainland announced sanctions prohibiting Hsiao and her family members from entering the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, prohibiting her financial supporters and affiliated companies from cooperating with organizations and individuals in the mainland, and adopting other necessary punitive measures for pursuing lifelong accountability, the spokesperson said.

Hsiao, a confidant of Tsai, was appointed as the island’s representative to the US in 2020 when the Trump-led GOP administration aligned closer to DPP secessionists. With an American mother, Hsiao has lived and studied in the US, displaying her pro-Washington credentials.

She has been most criticized for efforts to orchestrate visits to Taiwan by US politicians, including former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, who was paid $150,000 under an agreement signed by the Hsiao-chaired "Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office" in the US and US-based company Premiere Speakers Bureau, according to media reports.

In August 2020, the DPP authorities lifted restrictions on imports of US ractopamine-enhanced pork, which drew a strong wave of opposition. But Hsiao defended the decision and called for the public to reject a referendum on “opposing problematic pork import from the US.” Taiwan Affairs Office Spokesperson Ma Xiaoguang said Hsiao’s move makes her look like “an advocate of US interests.”

Hsiao was added to the mainland’s list of “diehard separatists” in August 2022, along with other political figures such as Koo Li-hsiung and Tsai Chi-chang. The Chinese mainland has slammed Hsiao for pushing US arms sales to Taiwan island and advancing Pelosi’s 2022 visit. 

One month after being sanctioned by the Chinese mainland, Hsiao hosted about 60 international lawmakers to stand against China and lobbied them to push their governments to adopt “greater deterrence against the military or other forms of coercion” by the mainland, according to a Reuters report in September 2022.

The spokesperson of the Taiwan Work Office of CPC Central Committee said history has proved and will continue to prove that "Taiwan independence" is a dead end and "Taiwan independence" diehards colluding with external forces will fail.

No one or any force should underestimate our resolute determination, firm will, and strong ability to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, the spokesperson said.