Mainland accuses Lai of fueling confrontation

A Chinese mainland spokesman on Wednesday blamed Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te's policies for escalating tensions across the Taiwan Strait, calling them the greatest obstacle to dialogue.

Chen Binhua, spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said at a regular news conference that Lai has "stubbornly adhered" to a separatist stance, disregarding the interests and well-being of the public and businesses in Taiwan.

Recently, Lai outlined what he described as three missions: "protecting Taiwan in the face of China's threat," "increasing the defense budget to safeguard the lives and property of Taiwan's people," and "shifting investment from the mainland to Taiwan and positioning enterprises for a global layout".

Chen condemned Lai's efforts to restrict cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation, accusing him of "pandering to foreign powers," enabling outside interference, and "recklessly pursuing a dangerous path of belligerence".

"Lai has forcibly promoted economic decoupling and supply chain severance between the two sides," Chen said. "His words and actions have seriously harmed the interests of enterprises and people on the island. If he does not correct these mistakes, he will only bring more suffering to Taiwan."

Chen also criticized remarks made by Chiu Chui-cheng, head of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, during a recent visit to the United States. Chiu labeled the mainland as the biggest threat to peace and stability across the Strait, comments Chen rejected.

The spokesman said the Democratic Progressive Party authorities' separatist stance and "collusion with external forces" are the root causes of the tense situation. While the DPP claims to be open to dialogue, Chen said, it continues to promote the notion of "Taiwan independence".

"This contradictory behavior shows that they have no genuine intention to restore cross-Strait dialogue," Chen said.

He also criticized the Mainland Affairs Council, saying it had abandoned its role of fostering dialogue and exchanges and instead was "inciting confrontation and obstructing exchanges." He attributed the deterioration of cross-Strait relations over the past six months to the DPP.

Chen also denounced recent comments by DPP Secretary-General Hsu Kuo-yung, who said, "There is no such thing as a Taiwan Recovery Day." Chen called the remarks a deliberate distortion of history and "disgraceful".

The opposition Chinese Kuomintang also condemned Hsu's statement as a distortion of history and "utterly absurd".

"No matter how much the DPP authorities speak nonsense or collude with external forces to hype the false notion of 'Taiwan's undetermined status,' they cannot change or undermine the historical and legal fact that Taiwan belongs to China," Chen said.