No money-making on the mainland for any secession-backing business: China Daily editorial

Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday that law enforcement departments in Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Hubei and Sichuan provinces and Shanghai are investigating the law-breaking behaviors of chemical fiber, textile and cement factories belonging to the Far Eastern Group.

The enterprises' illegal activities are mainly in the fields of environmental protection, land use, employees' occupational health, work safety, fire control, taxation and product quality. And the punishments meted out so far are fines, making rectification within a prescribed time limit, and handing back idle construction land.

What makes the law enforcement noteworthy is that Far Eastern is a Taiwan group, whose owner, Douglas Hsu, has been the biggest funder of the secessionist-minded Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan for a long time. It shows that Beijing is making good on its vow that the days have gone when the island's secessionists and their funders could make money on the Chinese mainland while brazenly trying to split the country or supporting that endeavor.

As the spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said, the words and deeds of the secessionists on the island seriously undermine cross-Straits relations, regional peace and stability, and the common interests of compatriots on both sides of the Straits, as well as the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation.

The ongoing investigations of the Far Eastern Group's factories on the mainland should prompt Taiwan businesses to distinguish right from wrong, and draw a clear line between themselves and the pro-independence forces on the island.

The blacklist of prominent Taiwan secessionists that Beijing recently published has made it clear to the Taiwan business community that they should sever all ties with secessionists if they want to continue to make money on the mainland.

Despite this, it should be pointed out that the mainland's welcome to law-abiding Taiwan enterprises that uphold the one-China principle remains unchanged, and the mainland will continue to protect their lawful rights and interests.

But the mainland will never allow those who support "Taiwan independence" or undermine cross-Straits relations to continuously "smash the cooking pot from which they scoop their meals".

The "routine" passage of the US guided missile destroyer USS Milius through the Straits on Tuesday offers a clue as to why Beijing has felt compelled to take such action. With the US offering it immoral support and acting as a source of seeming-at-least strength, the DPP administration on the island has become increasingly brazen in its provocative pursuit of the international community's recognition of the island as being "independent" from the motherland.

Given the sizable investment from Taiwan on the mainland and indispensable role the mainland plays in the island's economy, the tough measures Beijing will take against secessionist-supporting Taiwan enterprises will have a huge impact on the island's political and economic landscape.

The Taiwan business community should heed the lessons of what has befallen Hsu's businesses lest they end up in the same boat.