Mainland slams Lai's speech as a confession of 'Taiwan independence'

A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Tuesday said Lai Ching-te made a confession of "Taiwan independence" in his speech upon assuming the role of Taiwan region's new leader on Monday.

Lai's speech was full of hostility, provocation, lies and deception, Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said in a statement.

His stance on "Taiwan independence" became even more radical and risky as he trumpeted separatist fallacies such as "sovereign independence," "non-subordination between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits," and "self-determination of Taiwan residents," said Chen.

Not only did he fail to address the fundamental question of the nature of cross-Straits 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 the compatriots in Taiwan.

In his speech, Lai also begged for support from external forces, trying to promote the "internationalization of the Taiwan question" and continuing to "seek independence by relying on foreign countries" and "seek independence by using force," said Chen.

"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 Straits 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-Straits 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-Straits 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 Straits to become closer and more connected, Chen said, adding that it also cannot stop the irreversible trend of China's reunification.

(With input from Xinhua)