Taiwanese official says Beijing doesn't understand how democracy works amid spy row
Deputy justice minister says island will handle case of mainland man detained for spying according to its laws
Beijing does not understand Taiwan’s laws or democracy, a senior Taiwanese justice ministry official said on Monday, in the latest spat between the self-ruled island and the mainland, after island authorities detained a mainland man in a suspected spy case.
Deputy justice minister Chen Ming-tang said comments from a senior mainland official that Taiwan was trying to use the case to stir up trouble with Beijing were a misunderstanding.
“This is their misunderstanding of Taiwan’s judicial system and Taiwan’s democratic system. Basically, we will handle this according to law,” Chen said. “We will not make up charges.”
In an unusual espionage case involving a mainland exchange student, Taiwanese authorities detained a man – Zhou Hongxu, identified as having recently been a university exchange student in Taiwan – on suspicion of breaching national security laws.
Beijing has never renounced the use of force to take back Taiwan, an island it regards as a wayward province. Mainland spy cases in Taiwan usually involve retired Taiwanese military officers.