China condemns Taiwan for cyber bullying university students

A spokeswoman from the Chinese mainland on Friday condemned the Democratic Progressive Party authorities for colluding with certain media outlets and online trolls in Taiwan to cyber bully a member of mainland university students group visiting Taiwan who used the term "China Taipei Team" to congratulate a Taiwan baseball team.

The Taiwan-based Ma Ying-jeou Culture and Education Foundation invited a delegation, comprising 40 mainland students and teachers, to visit the island. The delegation departed on Thursday after concluding a nine-day trip.

On Sunday, the delegation experienced baseball, one of the most popular sports in Taiwan, at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium.

Song Siyao, a member of the delegation and a student at Fudan University, congratulated the Taiwan baseball team on its victory in the World Baseball Softball Confederation's Premier12 tournament. "Compatriots from both sides can work together to improve our country's performance in the field of baseball," she said.

However, the DPP authorities said it was inappropriate for her to use the "China Taipei Team" during interviews. As a result, administrative investigation may follow, potentially leading to a directive that the hosting organization refrain from inviting related groups to Taiwan for a period ranging from six months to five years.

Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said that there is only one China in the world, with Taiwan being an integral part of China. Despite the fact that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have not yet been fully reunified, the fact that the mainland and Taiwan both belong to one China has never changed.

The use of the term "China Taipei Team" is entirely appropriate, Zhu said.

"The DPP authorities are making a big fuss in an attempt to intimidate organizations engaged in cross-Strait exchanges, fully exposing their nature of inciting cross-Strait confrontation," she said. "They fear that their well-crafted lies will be exposed and that their "anti-mainland card" will lose its effectiveness," she added.