Taiwan appoints new chief to oversee policy towards mainland
Andrew Hsia Li-yan takes up post after the previous chairman quit over ‘spying’ allegations
Taiwan has appointed a new head of the government body overseeing relations with mainland China after the previous chairman quit over a spying row.
Deputy defence minister Andrew Hsia Li-yan is take up the post at the Mainland Affairs Council, the cabinet said in a statement.
He replaces Wang Yu-chi who quit last week.
Wang alleged last year that his former deputy had leaked classified information to the mainland ahead of talks, but prosecutors said earlier this month there was not enough evidence to warrant charges.
Hsia, 64, is a veteran foreign affairs expert and he became deputy defence minister in October 2013.
Beijing said after Wang’s resignation last week that any change of personnel was unlikely to harm relations between the mainland and Taiwan and efforts to improve ties between the two sides.