TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council on Wednesday accused Beijing of “cross-border repression” after China claimed two Taiwanese ran a smuggling ring linked to a ship convicted of cutting an undersea cable.

Chinese authorities said their investigation found that the two men led a smuggling operation involving the Hong Tai 58, a Togo-registered cargo ship crewed by Chinese nationals, per Reuters. The vessel was linked to damage to undersea communications cables off Taiwan in February, the public security bureau in Weihai, Shandong province, said.

A Taiwan court ruling in June sentenced the ship’s Chinese captain to three years in prison for intentionally severing the cables under the Telecommunications Act, per Liberty Times.

At a routine briefing, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Spokesperson Peng Qingen offered no evidence to reconcile Beijing’s claims with Taiwan’s court verdict, per CNA. He also declined to say whether China had pursued any joint investigation with Taiwan.

Weihai public security bureau later issued a reward notice, offering rewards of NT$223,000 (US$7,100) to NT$1.11 million for information leading to arrests.

MAC said the cable-cutting case was clear and legally concluded, stressing that China has no jurisdiction over Taiwan. Publicly naming Taiwanese citizens and offering bounties without evidence, it said, amounts to political manipulation rather than law enforcement.