MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Taiwanese law enforcement officials detained a man as he was attacking a military police officer with samurai sword near the Presidential Office Building, media reported Friday.
According to the South China Morning Post newspaper, a 51-year-old man was detained after wounding the officer at around 10 a.m. local time (02:00 GMT) with a sword stolen from the Armed Forces Museum.
The newspaper said authorities believed the attack to have been politically motivated, because the suspect had a flag of the People’s Republic of China in his bag. However, the attacker reportedly did not shout any political slogans.
Taiwan is not recognized as an independent state by China, which claims sovereignty over the island. Taiwan similarly does not recognize the central government in Beijing.