China probe finds Taiwanese smugglers controlled vessel that damaged subsea cables

BEIJING, Dec 24 (Reuters) – Chinese authorities on Wednesday said two Taiwanese citizens led a smuggling operation involving a Chinese-crewed vessel that damaged subsea cables earlier this year. 

In June, a Taiwanese court sentenced the Chinese captain of a Togo-registered ship, the Hong Tai 58, to three years in jail after finding him guilty of intentionally damaging undersea cables off Taiwan in February, in a case that alarmed officials in Taipei. 

On Wednesday, the public security bureau in Weihai, in China’s eastern Shandong province, said its investigations into the incident showed that two Taiwanese men were behind a multi-vessel operation that was illegally transporting frozen goods into China. The authorities’ findings came after interviewing seven Chinese crew members on the Hong Tai 58.

China previously accused Taiwan of “manipulating” possible Chinese involvement in the case, saying it was making claims before the facts were clear.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said the Chinese Communist Party does not have jurisdiction over Taiwan and urged the Chinese authorities to provide concrete evidence if they had it.

“In the absence of concrete evidence, publicly announcing names and offering rewards is not a civilized practice,” it said in a statement.

“It is merely another instance of cross-border repression and political manipulation.”

BOUNTY OFFERED FOR INFORMATION ON TAIWANESE SUSPECTS

The Weihai public security bureau issued a bounty of up to 250,000 yuan ($35,569) for information or assistance regarding the Taiwanese suspects with the surnames Chien and Chen, adding that they have been on a Chinese customs office wanted list since 2014.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office accused Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party of provoking confrontation, saying Taipei had “ignored the facts of the case” and “maliciously hyped up” the situation.

Taipei is “sheltering and condoning smuggling crimes, using the opportunity to carry out political manipulation and undermine cross-strait relations,” a spokesperson for the office, Peng Qingen, said at a weekly news briefing.

Beijing views Taiwan as its own territory. Taipei rejects that, saying only the island’s people can decide their future.

(Reporting by Liz Lee, Beijing newsroom and additional reporting by Yimou Lee in Taipei; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus and Bernadette Baum)