Critics have called on Lai Ching-te, leader of the Taiwan region, to stop his provocative remarks after Lai delivered a speech on Thursday promoting "Taiwan independence".
Eric Chu Li-luan, chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party, urged Lai to abandon his separatist view, calling it a dead-end that jeopardizes people in Taiwan.
Lee Cheng-hung, chairman of the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland, called on Lai to focus on fostering mutual development and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait.
Wu Dongsheng, a freelance writer in Taiwan, said the region will not change its ancestry, bloodline, genes or lack of Chinese identity just because of a change in regional leadership.
Wu added that Lai Ching-te's remarks have made the general public in Taiwan even more aware that their historical and cultural motherland is China.
Lai Ching-te's separatist remarks spark criticism in Taiwan region
Lai Ching-te's separatist remarks spark criticism in Taiwan region
The remarks by the Taiwan region's leader Lai Ching-te on Thursday are a blatant attempt to separate Taiwan from China, but such efforts are doomed to fail as the overwhelming majority of countries in the world fully recognize the one-China principle, said Victor Gao, chair professor of Soochow University in east China's Suzhou City.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday that Lai's speech deliberately sought to sever the historical ties between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, once again exposing his stubborn "Taiwan independence" separatist stance and his ill intention to heighten cross-Strait tensions for selfish political interests.
In a phone interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the same day, Gao said the spokeswoman's response was very solemnly made and refuted the absurd narratives preached by Lai.
Gao cited the one-China principle, which stipulates there is only one China in the world, that Taiwan is part of China, and that the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and noted this observed by the United Nations and by the majority of countries around the world.
"In essence, what Lai Ching-te has been doing is to advocate two 'countries' on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. He claimed that the People's Republic of China has never subjugated Taiwan to its rule in complete denial of the fact that the overwhelming majority of the countries in the world, the United Nations, and all the international organizations fully recognize the one-China policy. This is a blatant push for the real separatism of Taiwan," said Gao.
He warned that Lai's dangerous remarks could bring catastrophic consequences to cross-Strait relations.
"More and more people in Taiwan now realize the risks created by positions that are preached by Lai Ching-te, and they want to call on this local leader in Taiwan to really come back to his senses. There is only one China after all. While you are in Taiwan, you can call yourself 'Taiwanese', but a 'Taiwanese' is also a Chinese," said the expert.
Gao further stressed that more than 180 out of the 193 U.N. member states recognize the one-China principle, and urged some hostile forces in the United States to stop abetting Lai's separatist stance.
"The government of the United States still persists in this one-China policy, even though they are trying to hollow out the one-China policy. In a sense, I think people like Lai Ching-te, who are becoming die-hard separatists [and] try to split China, have been aided and abetted by some hostile forces in the United States. And I hope the majority of the countries in the world or the great majority of mankind will realize that, and the one-China policy will prevail," said Gao.
Lai Ching-te's remarks blatant push for Taiwan separatism: expert
Lai Ching-te's remarks blatant push for Taiwan separatism: expert
