14 DAY TRIAL // The Taiwanese Justice Ministry announced on Thursday that four of its officials had been arrested under accusations of being spies for mainland China. A spokesperson for the Ministry said in a press conference that the four had been filmed by Chinese authorities while entertaining themselves in several hostess lounges, and then blackmailed with the tapes so as to become spies for the most populous nation on Earth.
According to spokesman Luo Chi-wang, the four officials are now in custody, and are awaiting their trial. He explained that the four answered to Beijing, and that their mission was to leak as many pieces of information about sensitive Taiwanese data as possible over to the Chinese side. The Ministry representatives also announced that 36 other members of the team had behaved in “inappropriate ways” during their visit to the mainland, but refused to give any other details as to what that meant.
The Taiwan Affairs Council, China's competent authority as far as diplomacy goes, argued that it had no knowledge of the four operatives, and added that it had no comment for reporters. Its reaction comes as no surprise to anyone, especially considering that the nation has a reach history of dissimulating its intentions, both in its international and domestic politics.
No further than last month, an employee of the Taiwanese presidential office was arrested in Taipei, under charges of leaking sensitive information to the Chinese side. This only further goes to show the level of distrust that still exists between the two states, even though Taiwan's President, Ma Ying-jeou, is sympathetic to China, and has helped vastly improve the bilateral relations between the two countries.
The issues that China and Taiwan have with each other date back to 1949, when the Communist forces led by Mao Zedong entered Beijing and declared that the principles of Marx, Lenin, and Mao would rule the nation. Their opposition, the Nationalist forces, led by Chiang Kai-shek, withdrew to the island of Taiwan, where they founded their own nation. Since then, the two have been at odds with each other, even though the recently-appointed Taiwanese President is friendly towards the larger neighbor.