The ad featured a photograph of President Tsai Ing-wen (file)
New Delhi:
China has been accused by Taiwan of trying to impose censorship on India after its embassy in New Delhi advised reporters to observe the one-China principle after newspapers ran advertisements for the holiday Taiwan National.
Coming just months after deadly clashes between Indian and Chinese troops on the disputed Himalayan border between the two Asian giants, controversy has erupted at a time when Indian feelings towards China are filled with antipathy and suspicion.
The hacking of China was raised on Wednesday by ads placed in major Indian newspapers by the Taiwanese government to mark the democratic island nationwide and claimed by China on Saturday.
The ad carried a photograph of President Tsai Ing-wen and hailed India, another democracy, as a natural partner of Taiwan.
China, which claims Taiwan and sees it as a capricious province, expressed its displeasure in an email sent by its embassy on Wednesday evening to journalists in India, including Reuters.
Regarding the upcoming so-called ‘National Taiwan Day’, the Chinese Embassy in India would like to remind our friends in the media that there is only one China in the world and the government of the People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing all of China, ”the embassy said.
“We hope that the Indian media can stick to the Indian government’s position on the Taiwan issue and not violate the ‘One China’ principle.
“In particular, Taiwan will not be called a” country (nation) “or” Republic of China “or the head of the Taiwan region of China as” President “, so as not to send the wrong signals to the general public.”
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu mocked Beijing’s advice to the media.
“India is the largest democracy in the world with a vibrant press and a freedom-loving people. But it looks like #Communist China is hoping to enter the subcontinent by enforcing censorship. # Taiwan’s Indian friends will have a answer: GET LOST! ” he said in a tweet.
New Delhi does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taipei, but the two sides have close trade and cultural relations.
The central government has carefully avoided disturbing China over Taiwan. But relations grew strained after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in June, and some nationalist groups called for a boycott of Chinese goods.
“The Chinese government is behaving like a street jerk, not like a budding superpower. It is threatening us,” said Nitin Gokhale, editor of a defense and security website, after receiving the email from the Chinese Embassy.
