Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian. Photo: The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority recently has been hyping up the situation in Ukraine and the so-called threat from the Chinese mainland, deliberately increasing cross-Straits confrontation and preaching wars, which exposes their hypocricy, Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said on Wednesday.

On March 9, deputy regional leader of Taiwan Lai Ching-te openly said that the island “needs to have the capability to defend itself” in an interview with Yahoo TV. His remarks came after Tsai Ing-wen, the regional leader of Taiwan, threatened to not "rule out firing the first shot." 

Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, on Wednesday said, “we are willing to create a broad space for peaceful reunification, but we will not leave any space for various forms of separatist activities.” If the DPP authority continue to indulge in the dream of relying on foreign forces in “seeking independence by force,” and dare to take the risk, all the lies they have weaved and boasted will vanish in an instant. “We hope our compatriots in the island will have a clear understanding of their interests, reject the coercion and deception of the DPP authority, and make a clean break with Taiwan secessionists.” 

Amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, some foreign politicians are hyping up the mainland's "military threat" to Taiwan. They’re not only expressing support for the island, but also threatening to provide weapons to Taiwan. According to reports, the island of Taiwan has signed an arms sale contract with the US recently to purchase a Field Information Communications System (FICS) at a total of NT$6.99 billion.

The DPP authority, acting for its own selfish interests, is willing to be used as a pawn by external forces, Zhu said. It does not care about the safety of 23 million Taiwan compatriots and does not hesitate to kidnap them as cannon fodder to gain profits. This will harm the island and only push it further into the abyss of disaster, Zhu noted.

The US government said that it would not send troops to Ukraine under any circumstances after the crisis broke out. In the wake of that, there were voices in the island that Taiwan’s security cannot depend on the US. 

In response, Zhu said the Taiwan question is fundamentally different from the Ukraine issue. The most fundamental difference is that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory and the Taiwan question is completely China’s internal affair, one which brooks no external interference.

From the Kabul moment to the Ukraine crisis, more and more Taiwan compatriots have clearly realized that the US, for its own interests, adds fuel to the fire while it watches from the sidelines to avoid getting burned, Zhu said. By manipulating the Taiwan question, external forces aim to use Taiwan to contain China at the expense of the interests of the Taiwan people. The ultimate fate of them being pawns is to become the abandoned piece, Zhu said.

Zhu stressed that Taiwan’s future, its security and the welfare of Taiwan compatriots lie in the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations and national reunification, rather than relying on "empty promises" from external forces.