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NEW DELHI: Taiwan accused China of attempting to impose censorship on India after its embassy in New Delhi advised journalists to observe the “one China” principle after newspapers ran announcements for Taiwan’s national day.
Just a few months after the deadly clashes between Indian and Chinese troops on the disputed Himalayan border between the two Asian giants, the controversy has erupted at a time when Indian sentiments towards China are full of antipathy and suspicion.
On Wednesday (October 7) the Taiwanese government gave China the creeps in advertisements placed in major Indian newspapers to mark the island’s national day on Saturday.
The ad featured a photograph of President Tsai Ing-wen and praised India, a fellow democracy, as a natural partner of Taiwan.
China, which claims Taiwan and considers it a rogue province, made its displeasure evident in an email sent by its embassy on Wednesday night to journalists in India, including Reuters.
“Regarding the upcoming so-called ‘National Taiwan Day’, the Chinese Embassy in India wishes to remind our friends in the media that there is only one China in the world and that the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the only one. legitimate government representing all of China, “the embassy said.
“We hope that the Indian media can stick to the Indian government’s position on the Taiwan issue and not violate the ‘One China’ principle.”
“In particular, Taiwan will not be referred to as a ‘country (nation)’ or ‘ROC’ or the leader of the Taiwan region of China as ‘President’, so as not to send the wrong signals to the general public.”
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu mocked the Beijing council to the Indian media.
“India is the world’s largest democracy with a vibrant press and freedom-loving people. But it seems that communist #China is waiting to march to the subcontinent imposing censorship. # Taiwan’s Indian friends will have an answer: GET OUT!” he said in a tweet.
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New Delhi does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taipei, but both sides have close commercial and cultural ties.
The Indian government has carefully avoided bothering China over Taiwan. But relations became strained after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in June, and some Indian nationalist groups called for a boycott of Chinese goods.
“The Chinese government is behaving like a street thug, not a wannabe superpower. It threatens us,” Nitin Gokhale, editor of a defense and security website, said after receiving the email from the Chinese embassy.
