Won’t be intimidated by China’s ‘hooligan’ diplomats: Taiwan, World News

Taiwan said Tuesday that it will not be intimidated by China’s “hooligan” officials and will continue to celebrate its national day around the world.

Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Henry Tseng told parliament that he condemned the “irrational acts” of Chinese diplomats amid intense tensions between the two countries.

It comes after Taiwan accused Chinese diplomats of trying to enter a diplomatic event to take pictures and gather information on who was attending the country’s National Day celebrations.

Also read: Taiwanese diplomat hospitalized after quarrel with Chinese diplomats in Fiji

Taiwanese Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang said the world needed to see what China was capable of, saying what they did was a “barbaric act.”

“Chinese officials posted abroad are acting like hooligans; hitting people is not acceptable. We severely condemn this,” he told reporters.

The issue was difficult to deal with because Chinese diplomats have diplomatic immunity, Su added.

The Taiwanese charges were hotly disputed by China, who said its diplomats were trying to find out if any Fijian politicians were present at the event.

The Pacific is a major source of competition between the two, where Taiwan has official diplomatic relations with four countries, though not with Fiji.

Speaking in Taipei, Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou said that Taiwan is a “peace-loving country” and that China can spread as many lies as it wants.

Relations between the two countries were on edge earlier this month when Taiwan celebrated its National Day amid repeated raids by Chinese planes into Taiwan’s airspace. China regards Taiwan as a renegade province in which it intends to unite with the mainland.