Beijing stated on Friday that the Chinese authorities will ban people who are "pro-Taiwan independence" from entering mainland China, as well as Hong Kong and Macau.
"The [Chinese] authorities, in accordance with the law, will impose disciplinary sanctions on reluctant supporters of Taiwan independence, and will prohibit them and their families from entering mainland China, as well as the special administrative regions of Xianggang [Hong Kong] and Aomen [Macau]", a representative of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said on Friday.
The said people will be criminally liable for life, and they won't be able to "benefit monetarily from the mainland", an official statement said.
The situation around Taiwan has become more challenging over the past few weeks, as Washington pledged to protect the island in case of any aggression against it, and announced $2 billion in military aid to Taipei. At the same time, Taiwan confirmed the presence of American troops on its territory.
Supporters of Taiwan's 2020 presidential election candidate for the KMT, or Nationalist Party, Han Kuo-yu pass along a giant Taiwanese flag for the start of a campaign rally in southern Taiwan's Kaohsiung city on Friday, Jan 10, 2020
© AP Photo / Ng Han Guan
Beijing additionally slammed Brussels for sending a European Parliament delegation to Taiwan.
Taiwan, which officially calls itself the "Republic of China", broke off from the mainland in 1949, after the end of the Chinese Civil War. Beijing considers Taiwan to be a breakaway Chinese province, while the island maintains that it is an autonomous country, and has political and economic relations with several other nations which recognise its sovereignty.