Two Taiwan suspects wanted in mainland smuggling case

Public security authorities on the Chinese mainland have issued wanted notices for two Taiwan residents suspected of smuggling frozen goods into the mainland using the vessel Hong Tai 58.

Peng Qing'en, spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said on Wednesday that the two suspects, surnamed Chien and Chen, had long been engaged in smuggling frozen products into the mainland and had controlled vessels, including Hong Tai 58. The ship, registered in Togo, was accused by Taiwan authorities of sabotaging undersea cables in February.

The Weihai Municipal Public Security Bureau in Shandong province released a police notice on Wednesday seeking information on the two suspects, offering rewards ranging from 50,000 yuan ($7,126) to 250,000 yuan, depending on the value of the clues provided.

Peng said the February incident was, in fact, a smuggling operation carried out by the two suspects through their control of the vessel.

He criticized the Democratic Progressive Party authorities for maliciously hyping claims of so-called gray-zone harassment by the mainland in an attempt to provoke confrontation across the Taiwan Strait.

Peng warned the DPP authorities that "sheltering and condoning smuggling crimes while exploiting them for political manipulation to undermine cross-Strait relations would inevitably meet with joint opposition from compatriots on both sides of the Strait and ultimately backfire."

According to the police notice, during an investigation into seven mainland crew members of Hong Tai 58 in June, public security authorities uncovered a smuggling criminal gang led by Chien and Chen. The two had been placed on an online wanted list in 2014 by the Zhangzhou Customs anti-smuggling bureau in Fujian province on suspicion of smuggling waste.