Taiwan condemns Chinese 'wolf warrior diplomacy' in Denmark

Taipei, Sept. 16 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Monday condemned what it described as an example of Beijing's "wolf warrior diplomacy" after the Chinese ambassador to Denmark demanded that his Taiwanese counterpart leave an event in the Nordic country earlier this year.

MOFA issued the statement after Denmark's Berlingske newspaper reported Sunday that the Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) had asked the Japanese Embassy in Denmark to expel Taiwan's representative to Denmark, Robin Cheng (鄭榮俊) from a reception on Feb. 26 marking the Japanese emperor's birthday.

According to the report, Wang's request was ignored by the hosts, who allowed Cheng to remain at the event. Wang subsequently left the reception.

The report said the "disrespectful incident" sparked concern in Danish diplomatic circles.

In a press release, MOFA said that Wang's "brutal" attempts to obstruct Taiwan's normal exchanges with other countries are an act of "wolf warrior diplomacy."

It said his conduct showed a lack of basic etiquette and that "such blatant, unscrupulous, despicable and disrespectful behavior" would draw criticism from the international community.

Cheng told a CNA correspondent in Stockholm, Sweden that Wang and his secretary immediately protested to the Japanese hosts after noticing his presence at the reception.

Cheng said after Wang failed to persuade the Japanese hosts to ask him to leave, the Chinese diplomat left angrily, pointing at him in warning. He said Wang's behavior was unusually hostile.

Cheng added that Taiwan did not publicize the incident to avoid causing difficulties for Japan, but that the episode was hardly a secret because many guests had witnessed it firsthand.