A bird's eye view of Tavarua, a heart shaped island of Fiji Photo: Courtesy of Tourism Fiji

The staff members of the Taipei trade office in Fiji have caused injuries to one diplomat from the Chinese Embassy in Fiji when they acted provocatively against the embassy diplomats who were carrying out official duties in the public, the embassy announced.

Allegations by the Taipei trade office, from the separatist Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority of the Taiwan island, that Chinese Embassy diplomats attacked DPP representatives in Fiji were inconsistent with the facts, according to the embassy. 

Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, laid out details of the incident, which occurred on October 8 during an event held by the Taipei trade office. Some reports claimed that a staff member from the Taipei office was assaulted by Chinese Embassy staff. 

First, there are no so-called "diplomats" from Taiwan island in Fiji, Zhao said. The Fiji government has been adhering to the one-China principle and asked commercial institutions from Taiwan island to change the names of their offices in 2019, forbidding any attempt to create "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan" internationally, Zhao added. 

A staff member from the Taipei trade office in Fiji was reportedly in hospital in the South Pacific country after "being assaulted" by diplomats from the Chinese Embassy, Reuters reported on Monday. Tseng Hou-jen, a DPP official, was quoted as saying in local media reports that Chinese mainland diplomats stormed into an event on October 8 held by the Taipei trade office. 

Reuters said embassy staff tried to "force their way in" to take pictures and collect information, citing the DPP officials, and that one member from the Taipei office was sent to hospital with a head injury. 

"The allegations concerning Chinese Embassy staff are totally inconsistent with the facts," the Chinese Embassy in Fiji said in an official statement released on Monday. 

The staff of the Taipei trade office in Fiji acted provocatively against the Chinese Embassy staff, who were carrying out their official duties in the public area, causing injuries to one embassy diplomat, the embassy noted, urging local police to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident.

The police in Fiji told local media that it only received one complaint from the embassy, revealing that a staff member from the Taipei trade office there had assaulted the embassy staff. 

Ana Naisoro, spokesperson for the police, told local media Fijivillage that there was no report of the Taipei trade office employee being assaulted.

The Taipei trade office held a so-called "national day" event, which violates the one-China principle and the relevant rules and regulations of the Fijian government, the embassy said. 

By citing the statement from the embassy, the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the Taipei office blatantly displayed fake "national flags" at the event, which severely violated the one-China principle and the regulations of the Fiji government on relevant events. 

That evening, Taipei trade office members initiated verbal provocations and physical attacks toward the Chinese Embassy staff, who were carrying out official duties on the ground, causing physical injuries to one Chinese diplomat and damaging their property, Zhao said. 

"The Chinese Embassy in Fiji has also expressed its serious concern over the incident to the Fijian authorities, demanding a thorough investigation into the staff of the Taipei office in accordance with the law," he added. 

Global Times