Taiwanese Media Castigates Blatant Chinese Spy Accusations

Media houses from Taiwan voice that Beijing is using the four fake spy cases as an example to warn Taiwan, and at the same time alerting the people in mainland China, that they must be particularly careful about Taipei’s long-term use of various exchanges to obtain intelligence

@Kunal_Chonkar

New Delhi: The free and independent Taiwanese media have berated China in one voice over its attempts to malign its leadership over a fake global espionage plan. Taking strong objection against the malicious campaign driven by Beijing to target Taipei on deputation of spies, the Taiwanese media, cutting across languages and mediums, through their reports have censured China and its state-controlled channels.

A day after Taiwan celebrated its 109th Double Ten National Day, China aired a special report on the China Central Television (CCTV) over the arrest of an individual identified by Beijing’s authorities as a Taiwanese spy. Soon after the first report, the channel then aired consecutive reports claiming to have unearthed other spies appointed by Taipei.

China’s blasphemy which was slammed by Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mainland Affairs Council also got rebuked by media from all corners of Taipei.

Leading media source, The Taipei Times on October 14 reported that ‘China has been fabricating reports about Taiwanese spies since Sunday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday (October 13), dismissing another Chinese state media report about a man claiming to be a Taiwanese spy. Taiwan did not have a diplomat named Lee Yun-peng in the Czech Republic’s capital, as a man identified as Cheng Yu-chin claimed in an interview with the CCTV that aired on Monday night.’ The report added that “‘DPP spokeswoman Yen Juo-fang had said that Cheng had never been employed as Cho’s aide. China had maliciously distorted the facts to the detriment of cross-strait ties, she said.’

The influential website of The Taiwan News, in a report published on October 13 said that ‘The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) issued a written response…severely condemning the CCP’s crude attempts to interfere with Taiwanese society and intimidate the Taiwanese people.’

Prominent news portal The Taiwan Daily, on October 11 in a report stated ‘The MAC believes that the CCP’s practices through media propaganda…are completely incompatible with due process of law. The MAC also stated that regarding the detention of Lee Meng-Chu by relevant units of the mainland, the MAC has been in contact with his family since the incident to keep track of the progress of the case and provide the necessary assistance.’

A report on October 12, in the leading Taiwanese newspaper Liberty Times read ‘Tonight, the Chinese Communist Party’s official media has once again mentioned Cheng Yu-chin, a Taiwanese scholar who taught in the Czech Republic and who was also a former assistant to the former Democratic Progressive Party Chairman Cho Jung-tai.’  It added that ‘Cho Jung-tai responded by posting a message on Facebook, solemnly declaring that he has never had this assistant, that Cho Jung-tai did not know Cheng and that this news is obviously a misreport.’

‘The Director of the European Affairs Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated at a regular meeting that, as the Mainland Affairs Council responded, CCTV’s reports were basically fabricated. Moreover, according to the current information published by China, there are many specific facts that are wrong and inconsistent,’ the Liberty Times report said.

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Taiwan’s reputed Central News Agency reported on October 13 that the MAC had called the CCP’s actions ‘malicious political hype.’ The report said ‘The MAC pointed out that the international community has already unanimously condemned such improper accusations of violations of judicial human rights. The MAC has also expressed strong protest and called on the mainland to stop practices that are inconsistent with the due process of justice.’

Meanwhile, speaking to TheNews21, Charles Kang, a correspondent covering South Asia affairs with The Central News Agency said that China is trying to put more and more pressure on Taiwan through military and various means, hoping that Taiwan, especially the DPP government, can succumb to China and recognize the 1992 consensus.

Therefore, China is trying to send warplanes invading Taiwan’s airspace, let warships sail on Taiwan Strait, and continue to hold more military exercises target Taiwan, Kang observed.

“Recently they have also been publishing “Taiwan spies” in an attempt to make Taiwanese worry about their safety if they are in China. It is just assumed these threats can force Taiwanese to oppose the DPP government. However, authoritarian China often does not understand that citizens of democratic countries cannot accept the threat of dictatorship,” Kang said while citing the threats issued by the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi to India media received no heed.  “These behaviors only make people hate the Chinese Communist Party authorities’ even more.” the Taiwanese scribe voiced.

Echoing with Kang was another journalist from Taipei, who claimed that the four recent spy cases reported by mainland state media are mainly caused by poor cross-strait relations.

“The mainland is using the four exposed cases as an example to warn Taiwan, and at the same time alerting the people in mainland China, that they must be particularly careful about Taiwan’s long-term use of various exchanges to obtain intelligence. In short, poor cross-strait relations will definitely affect all levels of the two sides, especially Taiwanese businessmen, journalists, and even students who frequently travel between the two sides of the strait. Everyone will be silent for fear of being listed as the subject of concern for investigation,” the journalist said, requesting anonymity.