Taiwan slams China’s allegations of espionage calls it malicious political hyping by Beijing

Taipei refutes Chinese reports calling it a malicious political hyping up by Beijing, entrapping one Taiwanese national into engaging in spying activities, deliberately damaging relations across the Taiwan Strait

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New Delhi: Taiwan’s leadership has strongly refuted the baseless allegations leveled by China after a Beijing-controlled television aired a documentary showing a Taiwanese citizen confessing to visiting Hong Kong to support anti-government protesters. The allegation appears to be a retaliatory move by China over the National Day address of Taiwan, wherein President Tsai Ing-wen highlighted ‘international concerns to the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law, and the serious challenges to democracy, peace, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.’

Following the espionage claims, Taipei firmly denounced Beijing, citing entrapment and manipulation. Taiwan announced that it has a duty to stand up for democracy and human rights.

A day after Taiwan celebrated it’s 109th Double Ten National Day, Chinese state television showed a documentary claiming it to be a confession by an individual identified as Morrison Lee, who was arrested by police in the Shenzhen region in 2019. As per Chinese officials, the individual was arrested on suspicion of breaching national security laws.

Reports broadcasted by the state television claimed that the individual had gone to Hong Kong to support the protesters, and had then gone to Shenzhen to secretly film Chinese paramilitary police. The report also played a pre-recorded statement of the individual wherein he states that he is ‘very sorry’ and ‘has done many bad, wrong things in the past, perhaps harming the motherland and the country.’ The report carried the statement made by an individual while being dressed in Chinese prison garb.

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Meanwhile, Taipei’s Mainland Affairs Council lambasted the show calling it ‘complete nonsense.’ A statement from the council read ‘This is malicious political hyping up by the other side, entrapping one of our people into engaging in spying activities, deliberately damaging relations across the Taiwan Strait.’ It further added that ‘China should stop trying to frame Taiwanese citizens.’

The baseless accusations made by China on Taiwan come as Beijing continues to voice strong and aggressive claims on Taipei, even censuring foreign media from covering the island nation news and referring to it as a democratic country.