Beijing suspends communication with Taipei over "one China" and Taiwanese fraud

Displeasure at silence on one China principal during the inauguration ceremony of President Tsai Ing-wen on 20 May. Yesterday Cambodia deported to China a Taiwanese accused of telecommunications fraud. This year Kenya and Malaysia also deported to China dozens of Taiwanese suspects to be tried by Beijing.

Taipei (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The cross- Taiwan Strait communication mechanism "has been suspended ": stated An Fengshan, the Chinese spokesman for Taiwan Affairs.

The press conference was called to deal with tthe case of Taiwanese telephone fraud suspects, arrested in Cambodia and sent to China for trial (see photo). But An stressed that the reason for the suspension of relations is the new Taipei government's failure to recognize the principle of "one China."

Indeed last May 20 at the swearing in ceremony of the new President Tsai Ing-wen, this principle was not mentioned, although Tsai stressed she would continue the good relations with mainland China.

The principle of "one China" was drawn up in 1992 by Beijing and Taipei politicians, under which it is recognized that there is one China but the proper understanding of what this actually meant was left to each party's own interpretation. In fact, China thinks that Taiwan belongs to the one China, and the island is in a "rebel territory". Taipei, on the other hand, thinks the real China is the Republic of China, with the idea that sooner or later it will be reunited with the island's government.

In reality, Beijing fears that with the rise to power of the Democratic Party - which in the past has expressed pro-independence views - Taiwan will become hotbed of hostility towards the Government of the People's Republic.

The opportunity to bend Taiwan was given by Cambodia where 39 Chinese and Taiwanese involved in telecommunications fraud were discoverd. Phnom Penh decided yesterday to transfer all of the suspects to Wenzhou (Zhejiang) for their trial, even though Taiwan has continuously demanded that the Taiwanese accused of crimes be brought to the island to be tried.

Previously this year, dozens of Taiwanese implicated in telephone fraud in Kenya and Malaysia were transferred to China, provoking sharp criticism of the Taipei government in turn criticized as incapable by its own population.