Taiwan’s top China official says Beijing must stop shunning Lai, Nikkei reports

TAIPEI - Taipei’s top China affairs official warned that Taiwan’s government “will not tolerate” Beijing’s active engagement solely with opposition politicians while it refuses dialogue with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s democratically elected administration, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Jan 17.

Mr Chiu Chui-cheng, who serves as minister of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), said Taiwan’s government is “most concerned about the personal safety of (Taiwanese) citizens in the mainland”, Nikkei added, citing an exclusive interview with the official.

Mr Chiu also accused Beijing of “unfairly painting” Mr Lai’s administration as “provocative and unreasonable”, while referring to Beijing’s insistence that Taiwan belongs to a bigger Chinese polity, the Nikkei report stated.

Earlier this week, the Taiwanese government said

it will step up the surveillance and management

of ships carrying flags of convenience, including boarding them, after a Chinese-linked cargo vessel was suspected of damaging an undersea communications cable, reflecting the ongoing tensions between the two regions. REUTERS