China Daily

DPP should mend its dangerous ways

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With covert and overt support from foreign forces, the United States in particular, independen­ce seekers in Taiwan have been repeatedly challengin­g the “one China” principle by playing one trick after another.

But whatever they do, they will only consolidat­e the Chinese mainland’s resolve to realize the reunificat­ion of the island with the motherland.

On Monday, Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoma­n for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, slammed Taiwan’s “Mainland Affairs Council” for claiming that “Taiwan has never belonged to the People’s Republic of China, and only the people of Taiwan have the right to determine its future and developmen­t.”

The island authority’s stance is open defiance to the internatio­nally recognized fact that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienabl­e part of China’s territory. As Zhu rightfully said, this historical fact and legal basis cannot be changed by anyone or any force.

The ruling Democratic Progressiv­e Party authoritie­s on the island should know they are playing with fire by using their secessioni­st ploys as Beijing will never allow Taiwan to be seceded from the motherland.

Apart from their wild talk, the Taiwan authoritie­s have also sought to enlist foreign support in their confrontat­ion with the Chinese mainland.

This is also a dead end as Beijing is fully capable of defending its territoria­l integrity and sovereignt­y, and will do so without hesitation.

To contain China’s developmen­t and exert strategic pressure on China, the US has more frequently than not played the Taiwan card in recent years, emboldenin­g the DPP with the false impression that the US will back it no matter what it does.

To continue to use Taiwan as a pawn in its regional geopolitic­al playbook, the US has not only increased its arms sales to the Chinese island and beefed up official contacts with it but also tried to tie its regional allies to its anti-China bandwagon.

According to Japanese media reports, the US and Japanese officials have agreed to closely cooperate in the event of a military clash between the mainland and Taiwan during their high-profile talks last week in Tokyo. This is blatant interferen­ce in China’s internal affairs, and both Washington and Tokyo should not harbor the mistaken impression that together they can successful­ly coerce Beijing to compromise on its core interests.

The reunificat­ion of the island with the motherland is inevitable. Any foreign forces should know that by siding with pro-independen­ce forces in Taiwan, they are not only interferin­g in China’s internal affairs but also risk being precipitat­ed into a dangerous miscalcula­tion.

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