Mainland says Lai takes more radical "Taiwan independence" stance

BEIJING, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Lai Ching-te has taken a more radical stance seeking "Taiwan independence" in his speech upon assuming the role of Taiwan region's new leader, a Chinese mainland spokesperson said Tuesday.

Full of hostility and provocation and made up of lies and deception, Lai's Monday speech is a confession of "Taiwan independence," said Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, in response to a media query for further comments on Lai's speech.

The speech fully demonstrated that Lai is "a traitor to mainstream public opinion on the island and a disruptor of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," Chen said.

It is clear that from the very beginning of his tenure, Lai cannot help but to expose his true colors as an advocate for "Taiwan independence" with an extremely arrogant attitude and more radical views, he said.

Not only did he fail to address the fundamental question of the nature of cross-Strait relations, but he also attempted to change the nature of the relations, which poses a serious challenge to the one-China principle, he said.

Chen reminded Lai of the fact that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and its future can only be determined by more than 1.4 billion Chinese people, including compatriots in Taiwan.

In his speech, Lai has turned to external forces for support of his independence agenda. However, no matter how much he fawns on external forces and seeks their support, he will always be a "pawn," Chen noted, adding that the "pawn" will inevitably become a discarded piece because "Taiwan independence" is a dead end and the attempts to seek independence by inviting in external forces will only backfire.

"Compatriots on both sides of the Strait are Chinese and belong to the Chinese nation. No one desires more than we do to achieve national reunification through peaceful means," Chen said.

"However, in response to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities' collusion with external forces to provoke and seek independence, we must counteract and punish them," he added.

Lai's attempts to incite "anti-China" sentiments and pursue "independence" by force will only push Taiwan into a dangerous situation of military conflict, Chen said.

In his speech, Lai talked superficially about "dialogue" and "exchanges," misleading people to believe that he has good intentions and sincerity to improve cross-Strait relations, Chen noted.

"However, the inability of mainland residents and students to travel to Taiwan for tourism or study is entirely caused by the DPP authorities," he said, adding that Lai showed no genuine intent to promote cross-Strait exchanges or improve the island's economy.

No matter what Lai says or how he says it, it cannot change the fact that Taiwan is part of China, nor can it alter the common desire of compatriots on both sides of the Strait to become closer and more connected. It also cannot stop the irreversible trend of China's reunification, Chen said.