China has accused Taiwan’s spy agencies of stepping up efforts to steal intelligence with the aim of “infiltration” and “sabotage,” and warned Taipei against further damaging already strained cross-strait ties.
The relevant agencies in Taiwan must end such activities immediately, state-run Xinhua news agency said yesterday, citing China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman An Fengshan (安峰山).
Chinese state television on Saturday started broadcasting first in a series of programs detailing cases in which Chinese students studying in Taiwan are said to be targeted by Taiwanese spies who lure them with money, love and friendship.
The allegations came as China ramps up efforts to encourage Taiwanese to settle in China permanently, with new residency cards and other inducements.
The government has warned Taiwanese in China to be careful of the risks involved living in an autocratic country with Internet censorship and other drawbacks.
Taiwan and China frequently trade accusations of spying.
A former Chinese student studying in Taiwan, Zhou Hongxu (周泓旭), was last year sentenced to prison for collecting sensitive information through contacts in Taiwanese schools and government departments, and for trying to build a spy network.
Taiwan started to allow Chinese students at its universities in 2009.
China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan within its fold, a prospect of which Taiwan is often reminded, with Chinese warships and fighter jets periodically pressing close to the nation.
China has also lured away some of the few nations with diplomatic ties with Taipei.
However, as Beijing further isolates Taiwan, Taipei is discreetly nurturing security ties with regional powers by sharing intelligence of Chinese military deployments, sources have told Reuters.
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
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The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
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