Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Tseng has confirmed that Chinese diplomats assaulted a Taiwanese official in Fiji. The altercation occurred at the Grand Pacific Hotel during an event to celebrate Taiwan’s National Day.
In a report to the legislature on Monday, Tseng said that two Chinese diplomats attempted to force their way into the reception. An argument took a violent turn when the Chinese diplomats were denied entry. Personnel on both sides suffered injuries. The Taiwanese representative office has filed a report with police officials in Fiji, who are now looking into the case.
Tseng says that it's rare for Chinese diplomats to cause a disturbance at a Taiwanese event overseas. He says that his ministry is looking into whether similar things have occurred in other places or if it’s just an isolated incident.
Meanwhile, the director-general of the Foreign Ministry’s Asia-Pacific Affairs Department, Larry Tseng, says that Taiwan’s missions abroad have been placed on high-alert. He says that Taiwan’s overseas officials are now on the lookout for further incidents of Chinese aggression.