Taiwan
Taiwan sees no 'political intentions' in China's space probe launch, says President's Office
Taipei does not consider the flight of a Chinese rocket carrying a satellite over the southern part of the self-governed island as an attempt to interfere with the upcoming presidential election, Lin Yu-chan, a spokesman of Taiwan's presidential office, said on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation said that it had successfully launched the Einstein probe into orbit using the Long March 2C carrier rocket to observe poorly studied space phenomena.
The launch took place at the Xichang Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan. The Taiwanese Defense Ministry said that China's carrier rocket left the atmosphere while flying over the island's south.
"After a security team has analyzed the relevant information, and also taking into account the intelligence assessment of various friendly parties, political intentions [of the launch] can be ruled out," Lin said in a statement responding to media questions about whether the flight of China's rocket over Taiwan could be considered an attempt to meddle in the election.
Taiwan will hold the presidential election on Saturday. Taiwan's incumbent leader, Tsai Ing-wen, is no longer eligible for reelection as she has already served two consecutive terms as the island's president.
Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949. Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan — a territory with its own elected government — maintains that it is an autonomous country, but stops short of declaring independence.
Beijing opposes any official contacts of foreign states with Taipei and considers Chinese sovereignty over the island indisputable.
(WIth UNI inputs)
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