A fight over Chinese slang in Taiwan has turned into a diplomatic spat, with Beijing calling Taipei paranoid and Taiwanese politicians calling the language a tool of takeover.

• Chinese short videos and TikTok songs have flooded Taiwan, and self-appointed "China-language police" now call out people online for using mainland phrases.
• The row escalated after a man using a laptop with simplified Chinese characters at Taipei Main Station was photographed and reported as a suspected spy; police found he was listening to an investment course.
• Police then used a mainland-style word for "audio" in their own press release, and were themselves accused online of being infiltrated.
• Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office hit back, saying the ruling party is obsessed with opposing anything Chinese and is creating a climate of fear on the island.
• Taiwan Statebuilding Party leader Wang Hsing-huan defended the language watch as self-defense, arguing China spreads its culture to blur the line between the two sides and absorb Taiwan.

Outlook: Expect the language fight to keep running as a proxy for the wider battle over Taiwan's identity, with both sides using it to score political points.