Taiwan says soldier who went lacking has been present in China

Taiwan says soldier who went missing has been found in China

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Taipei, Taiwan
CNN
 — 

A Taiwanese soldier who went missing last week from an island near the Chinese coast has been found in mainland China, a Taiwan official said on Monday, raising the possibility of a highly unusual defection amid heightened tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

Speaking to reporters, Chiu Tai-san, minister of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, said China had notified Taiwan that the soldier, surnamed Chen, is currently in mainland China.

Chen was reported missing on Erdan island following a roll call, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry said in a statement Thursday, adding it had set up a special task force to locate him.

Erdan, part of the Taipei-controlled Kinmen islands, is located less than 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) from the Chinese port city of Xiamen in southeastern Fujian province.

In recent years, Beijing has ramped up economic, diplomatic…

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