BEIJING: China on Sunday slammed the separatist remarks by Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen in her speech, saying China must be and will be reunified, “Taiwan independence” attempts will be smashed with joint efforts of compatriots across the Strait.
Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made the remarks when responding to a question about Tsai’s remarks on cross-Strait relations made on Sunday.
Claiming that Tsai’s remarks “incite confrontation, distort facts, mislead the public in the name of so-called unity and consensus, while colluding with external forces to seek independence,” Ma said that Tsai and the administration of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) continuously made provocative attempts to seek “Taiwan independence”. Such provocation is the root cause of the tension in cross-Strait relations and the greatest threat to regional peace and stability, stressed Ma. He reiterated that Taiwan is a part of China’s territory. “The fact has never changed and will never be changed,” Ma said, adding that “China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity has never be partitioned and will never be partitioned.”
Reaffirming the country’s firm determination in fighting against “Taiwan independence,” the spokesperson also clarified that actions are taken only against the DPP and other separatist forces, rather than ordinary compatriots in Taiwan. Ma reiterated China’s commitment to peaceful reunification, saying a peaceful reunification best serves the interests of the whole Chinese nation including Taiwan. We are willing to settle disputes under the one-China principle and work jointly to push forward the process of peaceful reunification and contribute to a peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, said Ma.
–The Daily Mail-CGTN
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