Beijing prepares blacklist to target ‘diehard Taiwan separatists’

Idea first floated two years ago but given the go-ahead after a statement last week by Mike Pompeo, sources say

List will be kept short and is not expected to be released until after the inauguration of the next US president, source says

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Prominent advocates of Taiwanese independence are likely to be on the blacklist, a source says. Photo: DPA

Published: 9:00am, 17 Nov 2020Updated: 9:00am, 17 Nov 2020

Beijing is drafting a blacklist of “diehard Taiwan separatists” as a warning to Taipei not to get too close to Washington, according to two mainland official sources specialising in Taiwan affairs.

The sources said that although the idea of the list was first floated two years ago, the decision to go ahead with it came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week that Taiwan “has not been a part of China”.

A Beijing-based source working for a government think tank specialising in Taiwan affairs said the names of the people targeted were not expected to be known publicly until next year.

“The announcement of the list is likely to come after the inauguration of the next president of the United States,” the source said, declining to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.

He said the targets would be anybody who openly advocated Taiwan independence, pushed aggressively for Taiwan independence or funded separatists generously.

The list was first reported by pro-Beijing newspaper Ta Kung Pao.

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