Mainland spokesperson rebukes false claims from DPP

A Chinese mainland spokesman on Wednesday slammed Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party for its attempts to "internationalize" the Taiwan question by hyping up the so-called military threat from the mainland.

Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said at a news conference the Taiwan question is a legacy of the Chinese civil war and how to solve it is the country's internal affair.

Ma's remarks came after the DPP administration refuted Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe's comments on the Taiwan question at the 19th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

China will have no choice but to go to war and fight to the end if anyone dares attempt separate Taiwan from the motherland, Wei said on Sunday. He was delivering a keynote speech on China's vision for regional order, and attended a meeting on Friday with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

In response, the DPP said Wei's remarks were "a declaration of war that defies the principles of peace in international relations".

Ma said the DPP distorted the nature of the Taiwan question and the mainland's policy on Taiwan.

"All necessary measures taken against 'Taiwan independence' forces are a just act to safeguard the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity and defeat attempts to split the country," he said. "Why is this called a declaration of war?"

Ma reiterated the mainland adheres to the basic principles of peaceful reunification and "one country, two systems", and is willing to put in great efforts to achieve this result. However, it will never allow Taiwan to be separated from China.