BEIJING - A Chinese mainland spokesman on Wednesday refuted Taiwan's criticism of the recruitment of Kun-Shan Chen, a Taiwanese radar expert.

"There is no need to be surprised at something perfectly normal. It is just natural for talents to flow across the Straits", said Ma Xiaoguang of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office at a press conference.

He was responding to a question concerning the recruitment of Kun-Shan Chen under a mainland recruitment program of foreign experts, also known as the "1,000 talents plan", which targets overseas talents.

Chen, a former professor with the National Central University of Taiwan and a world leading expert on remote sensing technology, joined the "1,000 talents plan" in March this year and now serves as a researcher at the State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.