China said it has blacklisted seven Taiwanese officials over their alleged support for the self-ruled island’s independence, reports Aljazeera.

According to China’s state news agency Xinhua, the group will be banned from entering mainland China and the territories of Hong Kong and Macau, and restricted from working with Chinese officials.

Xinhua said the “punitive measures” were necessary to “safeguard the peaceful development of the cross-Strait relations and the immediate interests of the people on both sides of the Strait.”

Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan