Taipei: Taiwan's government on Wednesday rejected a reward notice issued by Beijing seeking information to arrest two Taiwanese nationals accused of smuggling goods into China, calling the move a "political maneuver."

According to Focus Taiwan, China's state broadcaster CCTV reported that public security authorities in Weihai, Shandong province, issued a reward notice for information leading to the arrest of the two Taiwanese nationals, identified as Chien Wen-sheng and Chen Shun-chin. The men are accused of leading a contraband ring that has allegedly controlled several vessels, including the Hong Tai 58, to illegally bring frozen goods into China. They have been wanted by the Zhangzhou Customs Anti-Smuggling Bureau in Fujian Province since 2014 for smuggling waste into the country.

The controversy revolves around the Hong Tai 58, a Chinese-owned cargo ship that a Tainan court found had deliberately cut an undersea cable in February. The ship was detained by Taiwan's coast guard on February 25 after damaging the cable off Tainan that connects Taiwan proper to Penghu County and was later escorted to Anping Port in the city. In June, Tainan District Court sentenced the ship's captain, Wang Yuliang, to three years in prison, marking the first time a Chinese captain was held criminally responsible for such an incident.

The Tainan branch of the Taiwan High Court upheld the ruling in August following an appeal by prosecutors, and Wang has begun serving his sentence. The court stated that Wang allowed the ship to drift in the area without anchoring, thus damaging the cable and disrupting communications between Taiwan proper and Penghu County.

China's reward notice claims that authorities discovered the smuggling ring led by Chien and Chen while investigating the Hong Tai 58 crew members. In response, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) issued statements strongly criticizing the reward notice as a form of "cross-border repression" and "political maneuver." The MAC emphasized that China has no jurisdiction over Taiwan and suggested that if China possesses any evidence, it should be shared with Taiwan for cooperation in an investigation.

The CGA accused the Hong Tai 58's crew of deliberately disabling their Automatic Identification System (AIS) to evade tracking and operating under a Togolese flag of convenience as a cover. The CGA condemned China's actions, stating that the reward notice was issued as a political maneuver to "confuse issues, divert focus, and heighten cross-strait tensions."