Beijing holding ‘Taiwanese soldier’ who ‘lied about identity’ after being picked up by mainland Chinese coastguards

The Taiwan Affairs Office says the man was picked up along with a companion off the coast of Fujian province on Monday after their boat lost power
Mainland authorities said they had discovered he was a member of the Taiwanese armed forces who had ‘intentionally concealed’ his occupation

Taiwan

Sylvie Zhuangin Beijing

Published: 6:30pm, 22 Mar 2024

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Beijing says it is holding a Taiwanese soldier who was rescued by mainland Chinese coastguards earlier this week and then tried to conceal his real identity.

Chen Binhua, a spokesman for Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said that man, identified only by the surname Hu, was one of two people rescued by coastguards off the coast of Fujian province early on Monday after they called for help when their small fishing boat lost power in Weitou Bay.

Chen said Hu turned out to be an active member of the Taiwanese military who “failed to truthfully disclose his identity and intentionally concealed occupational information”, according to state news agency Xinhua.

“Relevant departments need to further verify and understand the situation,” he added.

Beijing did not offer any information regarding Hu’s legal status, nor did it specify which mainland departments are involved in “verifying” the situation.

The two were picked up near the Taiwanese island of Quemoy, also known as Kinmen, which is just a few kilometres away from the mainland coast.

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Chen was responding to media queries about why the two had not been returned to Quemoy, something the Taiwan Affairs Office had promised to do on Monday.

On Friday he said the other person– identified only by the surname Wu – would be returning to Quemoy.

Officials from Taiwan’s Kinmen Defence Command did not confirm whether either of the two were active members of the military and said only that they were natives of Quemoy.

The incident comes at a time when cross-strait tensions are running high following a series of incidents. Last month two mainland Chinese fishermen died when their speedboat capsized during a chase with Taiwanese coastguards.

Mainland China strongly condemned Taiwan over the pursuit and accused its coastguards of using “violent and dangerous methods.”

Taipei said the speedboat, carrying four fishermen, was trespassing in waters near the Quemoy archipelago, and insisted its actions were in line with regulations to expel and punish vessels that illegally enter its waters.

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Following the incident, mainland Chinese coastguards have stepped up their patrols in the area and sent more vessels into the waters off Quemoy, something Taipei said was a safety risk.

The previous month, Taiwan’s presidential election was won by the independence-leaning William Lai Ching-te, whom Beijing has branded a “troublemaker”.

Mainland China has in recent years stepped up military activities around Taiwan, which it sees as breakaway territory that must be brought back under its control, by force if necessary.

Most countries, including Taiwan’s main supporter the United States, do not officially recognise the island as an independent state but many oppose any forcible change in the status quo.