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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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