China denies Taiwan VP car-ramming plot, defends diplomats after Prague incident claims
BEIJING, June 30 — China defended its diplomats on Monday after Taiwan accused Beijing's embassy staff of planning to ram its vice president's car during an official visit to Europe.
'Chinese diplomats overseas always respect their host country's laws and regulations,' Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.
Taiwan's top China policy body, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), said on Friday that Hsiao Bi-khim's motorcade was surveilled and followed in a ploy to be rammed during a visit to the Czech Republic in March 2024.
Czech military intelligence spokesman Jan Pejsek told AFP on Sunday that Hsiao was targeted by 'persons legalised in diplomatic positions at the Chinese Embassy in Prague'.
He said they tailed her and sought information about Hsiao's programme and meetings with Czech officials.
China claims Taiwan as its territory and has ramped up the deployment of fighter jets and warships around the self-ruled island in recent years.
In response to the Czech claims, Beijing insisted on Monday that 'Taiwan is a part of China and has no so-called vice president'.
'No matter how the DPP authorities try to change things up and seek independence from the outside, and drive a wedge in China's diplomatic relationships, they will not be able to cover up their sinister plot and their attempt will not succeed,' Mao said, referring to Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party. — AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
2 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Anwar to lead trade missions to Italy, France, Brazil
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's visit is expected to strengthen Malaysia's diplomatic and trade relations with the three nations. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will undertake an official visit to Italy, France and Brazil from tomorrow until July 7, which will include his participation at the 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Senior press secretary to the prime minister Tunku Nashrul Abaidah said the visits to these major economic hubs – Rome, Paris and Rio de Janeiro – would strengthen Malaysia's diplomatic ties and trade relations with the three nations. He said the three markets collectively recorded bilateral trade valued at RM50.91 billion last year, Bernama reported. 'The visits present opportunities for rapid growth in sectors such as the economy, culture, technology and education,' he said during the Prime Minister's Office daily briefing. Anwar will also meet withy Malaysians and Muslim leaders during his visits. In Italy, he is slated to hold a bilateral meeting with his counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, to advance economic cooperation and pioneer joint cultural initiatives. In France, he is scheduled to meet with President Emmanuel Macron, with discussions focusing on trade, technology and education. Anwar will be in Rio de Janeiro from July 5 to 7, during which he will attend the 17th BRICS Summit at the invitation of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. 'Malaysia's role as a BRICS partner country and Asean chair for 2025 will emphasise the importance of multilateralism,' said Tunku Nashrul. Anwar will be accompanied by a business delegation, including representatives from major corporations and innovative enterprises. 'Some companies already have operations or business interests in Italy, France or Brazil, while others are exploring new investment opportunities to expand their global networks,' Tunku Nashrul said. Among those joining Anwar are representatives from Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), Khazanah Nasional Bhd, Sunway, and Maybank. Anwar and his delegation are expected to return home on July 9 and will proceed to attend the Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Kuala Lumpur on the same day. The delegation will be travelling on a chartered flight from Malaysia Airlines to proceed smoothly from one country to another without the need for long transits due to the packed travel itinerary. 'The cost of chartering the aircraft is also more economical compared to deploying a full government aircraft operation,' Tunku Nashrul said. He said the government will fully cover travel costs for official delegates, while the business delegates will bear their own expenses.
Malay Mail
17 hours ago
- Malay Mail
UN chief slams US-led aid retreat as poverty, hunger, debt spiral in Global South
SEVILLE, June 30 — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the world to 'rev up the engine of development' at an aid conference in Spain today at a time when US-led cuts are jeopardising the fight against poverty and climate change. Dozens of world leaders and more than 4,000 representatives from businesses, civil society and financial institutions are gathering in the city of Seville for the June 30-July 3 conference to seek fresh impetus for the crisis-hit aid sector. But the United States is snubbing the biggest such talks in a decade, underlining the erosion of international cooperation on combating hunger, disease and climate change. Guterres told delegates at the opening of the conference that two-thirds of United Nations sustainable development goals set for 2030 were 'lagging' and more than US$4 trillion (RM16.8 trillion) of annual investment would be needed to achieve them. US President Donald Trump's gutting of his country's development agency, USAID, is the standout example. But Germany, Britain and France are also making cuts while they boost spending in areas such as defence. International charity Oxfam says the cuts to development aid are the largest since 1960. More than 800 million people live on less than US$3.0 a day, according to the World Bank, with rising extreme poverty affecting sub-Saharan Africa in particular. Disruption to global trade from Trump's tariffs and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine have dealt further blows to the diplomatic cohesion necessary for concentrating efforts on helping countries escape poverty. The crisis meant children going unvaccinated, girls dropping out of school and families suffering hunger, said Guterres. He urged the international community to 'change course' and 'repair and rev up the engine of development to accelerate investment' in 'a world shaken by inequalities, climate chaos and raging conflicts'. A blistering heatwave that is scorching southern Europe welcomed the delegates to the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, an example of the extreme weather that scientists say human-driven climate change is fuelling. 'Colonial debt' Kenya's William Ruto, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Ecuador's Daniel Noboa, Angolan leader Joao Lourenco and Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan were among prominent Global South leaders in Seville. Among the key topics up for discussion is reforming international finance to help poorer countries shrug off a growing debt burden that inhibits their capacity to achieve progress in health and education. The total external debt of the group of least developed countries has more than tripled in 15 years, according to UN data. Critics have singled out US-based bulwarks of the post-World War II international financial system, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, for reform to improve their representation of the Global South. Painstaking talks in New York in June produced a common declaration to be adopted in Seville that only went ahead after the United States walked out. The document reaffirms commitment to the UN development goals such as eliminating poverty and hunger, promoting gender equality, reforming tax systems and international financial institutions. The text also calls on development banks to triple their lending capacity, urges lenders to ensure predictable finance for essential social spending and for more cooperation against tax evasion. Coalitions of countries will seek to spearhead initiatives in addition to the so-called 'Seville Commitment', which is not legally binding. But campaigners have criticised the text for lacking ambition and have rung alarm bells about rising global inequality. Hundreds of demonstrators braved the sizzling heat in Seville on Sunday to demand change in international tax, debt and aid policies. 'Global South countries will never be able to decide how they want to do development if they are bound to the new colonial debt,' protester Ilan Henzler, 28, told AFP. — AFP
Free Malaysia Today
17 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
German FM says Putin wants Ukraine's ‘capitulation'
German foreign minister Johann Wadephul believes Russia wants Ukraine to surrender. (dpa/AP pic) KYIV : Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to surrender, Germany's top diplomat said today as he visited Kyiv after weeks of stepped-up Russian bombardments of the country. Amid stalled peace talks to end the more than three-year war, 'Putin is not ceding on any of his maximalist demands – he doesn't want negotiations, he wants a capitulation,' German foreign minister Johann Wadephul said as he arrived in the Ukrainian capital on an unannounced visit. 'Ukraine's freedom and liberty is the most important task of our foreign and security policy,' Wadephul said in a statement released by his ministry. Russia is 'betting on a weakening of our support' and 'wants conquest and submission at any cost – even at the cost of hundreds of thousands of additional lives', he said.
