Lai and vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will take office on May 20.Hsiao — who was formerly Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the United States — has been travelling in recent days, including to the Czech Republic and the European Parliament in Strasbourg, according to photos posted on social media platform X by European politicians.China’s Taiwan Affairs Office on Tuesday slammed Hsiao over her visit to the Czech Republic, saying it served “the purpose of Taiwan independence… and is unhelpful for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait”.Beijing often reacts to any diplomatic acknowledgement of high-ranking Taiwanese officials, criticising other countries for the merest semblance of acknowledgement of the island’s sovereigntyChinese boat rowAdding to tensions, a row between Taipei and Beijing over a fatal fishing boat incident has dragged on since last month.A Chinese speedboat carrying four people capsized on February 14 near Taiwan’s Kinmen islands while being pursued by the Taiwanese coast guard, killing two people while the other two survived.Beijing has accused Taiwanese authorities of “seeking to evade their responsibilities and hide the truth” about the incident, while a Taiwanese coast guard official has said the boat involved was zigzagging and “lost its balance” before capsizing.China has said it will step up patrols around Kinmen following a series of deadly incidents, including the sinking of another boat in the area this month that resulted in the deaths of two crew members.The highest number of warplanes around Taiwan occurred last September when 103 Chinese aircraft were detected in a 24-hour period, according to daily data released by the defence ministry.Taiwan has criticised China for the increased use of “grey-zone” harassment, tactics that experts say stop short of open warfare but are enough to exhaust Taipei’s military.
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