China on Monday stepped up its war of words with Taiwan after Taipei freed 20 suspects in a telecom fraud case linked to China, with state media accusing Taiwan of tolerating crime and being taken hostage by anti-Chinese forces.
Malaysia had deported the 20 people, who were part of a group of 53 Taiwanese it arrested in March on suspicion of fraud, according to Taiwan's foreign ministry. But their release has prompted anger from Beijing.
Taiwan, for its part, has been infuriated by the forcible deportation of more than 40 Taiwanese people to China from Kenya, also on suspicion of telecom fraud. China says they are wanted for crimes committed against Chinese people in China.