Chinese authorities on Wednesday (December 24, 2025) 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 (December 24, 2025) 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.

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.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council did not immediately respond ⁠to a request for comment.

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