Beijing accuses Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party of using spy allegations for political gain

Party ‘has bound itself to a scammer and carried out this huge political manipulation’, Taiwan Affairs Office says

Authorities in Taipei had earlier questioned executives of Hong Kong company about charges made by self-proclaimed spy Wang Liqiang

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Beijing described Taipei’s investigation into two executives from a Hong Kong investment firm as a political farce. Photo: AP

Published: 7:07pm, 27 Nov 2019Updated: 11:18pm, 27 Nov 2019

Beijing has accused Taipei of trying to deceive the Taiwanese public for political gain by launching an investigation into allegations made by Wang Liqiang, the self-proclaimed Chinese spy who is seeking asylum in Australia.

The comments came after officials from the Investigation Bureau on Monday questioned two executives from a Hong Kong company about charges levelled against them by Wang while they were on a visit to the island.

Xiang Xin, the chief executive and chairman of China Innovation Investment, and his wife Kung Ching, who is an alternate director with the company, were also served with a notice preventing them from leaving Taiwan.

Wang, who is currently in Sydney on a tourist visa, said that China Innovation Investment was a front for mainland interference in Hong Kong’s universities and media organisations, according to Australian reports published on Saturday.

He said also that his handlers planned to send him to Taiwan to meddle in the presidential election in January.

Police in Shanghai earlier dismissed the allegations, saying 26-year-old Wang was unemployed and wanted on the mainland in connection with an investigation into alleged fraud.

Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian accused the DPP of exploiting the situation for political advantage. Photo: Xinhua

Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office, on Wednesday repeated the claim that Wang was a fraud and accused Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of exploiting the situation for political advantage.