Taiwan retaliates over China's poaching of allies

Taipei, May 24 (CNA) The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), Taiwan's China policy planner, said Thursday night it will more rigorously screen applications by Chinese officials to visit Taiwan and will step up measures to counter Chinese moves to divide society and create social discord.

The MAC made the announcement hours after Burkina Faso ended 24 years of diplomatic ties with Taiwan, apparently switching to Beijing, the second country to do so in less than a month. Taiwan now has only 18 diplomatic allies.

China has resorted to military and diplomatic threats to coerce Taiwan into accepting its "one China" principle, an approach that shows Beijing is frightened by Taiwan's democracy, according to MAC.

The more hostility it shows, the more it will force Taiwan to "go its own way" as Taiwan will never kneel before China, MAC stressed.

To ensure national security and public well-being, MAC said all applications by Chinese officials and government related personnel to visit Taiwan will now be vetted to a more rigorous standard, MAC said.