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.
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