Japan will bear all consequences if it doesn't retract egregious statements on Taiwan region: Taiwan Affairs Office

If Japan does not immediately correct its mistake and retract its egregious statements on China's Taiwan region, it must bear all the consequences that follow, a spokesperson for China's State Council Taiwan Affairs Office said on Friday.

Taiwan is sacred territory of China, and the Taiwan question is purely China's internal affair, said spokesperson Chen Binhua when answering a relevant question at a press briefing, noting that resolving the Taiwan question and achieving complete national reunification is an inherent requirement of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the shared aspiration of over 1.4 billion Chinese people.

As for what means are used, that is entirely a matter for the Chinese people themselves and brooks no interference from any external forces, the spokesperson said, noting that Japan and its ruling politicians have absolutely no qualification to point fingers, let alone make threats or attempt to obstruct China's reunification.

Japan bears historical guilt to the Chinese people regarding the Taiwan question, the spokesperson said. After the First Sino-Japanese War, Japan forcibly seized Taiwan and imposed half a century of colonial rule, he added. During the period of Japanese occupation, the people of Taiwan suffered immensely: hundreds of thousands were killed, and the local population was reduced to "subjects of a lost nation" with no political rights, no religious freedom and no cultural freedom, Chen said.

The crimes committed by Japanese aggressors in Taiwan are too numerous to list and constitute the darkest chapter in Taiwan's history, Chen said. It was the heroic struggle of all Chinese people, including compatriots in Taiwan, that defeated Japanese militarist aggressors, won the great victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and restored Taiwan to China, Chen noted.

If Japan dares to interfere by force in the Taiwan question, China will strike back head-on and crush such attempts resolutely, the spokesperson stressed.

"The Taiwan question concerns China's core interests and the national sentiments of all Chinese people. We have the firm will, strong resolve and robust capability to defeat all Taiwan secessionists and external interference and to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity," Chen noted.

No matter how external forces attempt to create disturbances, the historical trend of China's complete reunification cannot be stopped, Chen said.

"We hope that our Taiwan compatriots clearly recognize the danger and harm of such actions and join us in safeguarding the common home of the Chinese nation and upholding the fundamental interests, security and well-being of all Chinese people," the spokesperson said.