China official compares Catalonia, Taiwan independence

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The failure of Catalonia's effort to declare independence shows that Taiwan independence is also "doomed to failure" as national unity is paramount for all countries, the spokesman for the mainland's Taiwan Affairs Office, Ma Xiaoguang, said on Wednesday.

Last month, Madrid assumed direct rule over Catalonia after the Spanish prime minister sacked the region's secessionist government which had declared independence from Spain following a referendum on October 1.

Catalonia's independence bid was a good example for those aiming for the same in Taiwan, said Ma.

File photo of Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council /Taiwan.cn Photo

"The failure of the Catalonia referendum fully shows that protecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity is a paramount national interest for East or West," he told a regular news briefing. "So Taiwan independence is doomed to failure."

Relations between Beijing and Taipei have gone cold since the island elected Tsai Ing-wen as its leader in May 2016. Tsai has refused to adhere to the 1992 Consensus that endorses the one-China principle and acknowledges that both the mainland and Taiwan Island belong to China.

Beijing has said it opposes any actions to split Spain and it adheres to the "non-interference" policy in other countries' internal affairs. "China understands and supports the Spanish government's efforts to protect national unity and its territorial integrity," according to Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.