Mr. Chen had disappeared last Thursday on Erdan Island, his presence was confirmed on Monday by the Taiwanese authorities.
Taiwan confirmed on Monday that a soldier stationed on an island on the outskirts and who had not been found for a week has been found in China, the reasons for his disappearance being the subject of an investigation. Mr Chen, whose last name is known, had been reported missing during Thursday’s morning call on Erdan Island, less than five kilometers from mainland China.
Its presence on the continent has beenconfirmedsaid Chiu Tai-san, chairman of the Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council. Asked about the possibility that the soldier had deserted, ChiuTai-san replied that the government would “investigate the situation“, adding that the Ministry of Defense has “appropriate mechanisms to identify deserters“. On Friday, Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said it was too early to conclude that Mr. Chen had “ran away“. The latter is a member of the kitchen staff of the Lieyu battalion garrison in Erdan, according to the Taiwanese army.
Chinese intimidation
The island is part of the Kinmen Archipelago, which is located near the Chinese port city of Xiamen. The soldier’s disappearance comes at a time when relations are strained between China and Taiwan, which Beijing considers one of its provinces to take back one day, if necessary by force.
Chinese intimidation has increased in recent years. In 2022, the visit to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the US House of Representatives, sparked China’s ire and sparked its most significant military maneuvers around the island in years. And last October, the ruling Communist Party in Beijing enshrined its opposition to Taiwanese independence in its constitution.
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