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.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS