Chinese officials arrive in Taiwan on first post-pandemic visit

A group of Chinese officials arrived in Taiwan on Saturday on the first visit in three years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, to attend a cultural event at a time of soaring military tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan’s government this week allowed the trip of six officials, lead by Liu Xiaodong, deputy head of the Shanghai office of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, to attend the Lantern Festival in Taipei, at the invitation of the city government.
Liu, arriving at Taipei’s downtown Songshan airport, did not answer questions from reporters. His group was ushered into a van under heavy security and driven away.
Around a dozen pro-Taiwan independence supporters protested his arrival outside the airport, shouting “Taiwan and China, separate countries” and “Chinese people, get out”, while on the airport road another small group of pro-China supporters shouted their welcome.