Ma Xiaoguang Photo: cnsphoto

Rebuking the UK trade minister over a visit to China's Taiwan region in recent days in a bid to "strengthen ties" with DPP authorities, the Taiwan Affairs Office of China's State Council on Wednesday urged the UK to stop sending wrong signals to secessionist forces in the island, while telling the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities that "Taiwan independence" is a dead end where relying on external forces will never work. 

UK Trade Policy Minister Greg Hands paid a visit to the island of Taiwan for the first in-person talks since the COVID-19 pandemic "in a bid to strengthen ties with the island." He co-hosted annual talks and met with regional leader Tsai Ing-wen during his two-day visit, VOA News reported on November 7. 

On Wednesday, Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office, expressed firm opposition to the visit of the UK official, while urging the UK to abide by the one-China principle and stop sending wrong signals to secessionist forces in the island. 

Facts have proven that the DPP authorities will collude with external forces for political self-interest under the guise of economic and trade cooperation, "making use of Taiwan's resources to please foreign minds," Ma said. 

They have constantly sold out Taiwan's economic interests and the well-being of the general public, and this tactic is being seen through by more and more of our compatriots in Taiwan, and will inevitably end in failure, he noted. 

"We are telling the DPP authorities that 'Taiwan independence' is a dead end and relying on outsiders will never work. Stop hiding the shame of 'Taiwan independence' under the guise of so-called democracy, confusing right and wrong and deceiving the world," Ma warned, noting that if they keep trying to rely on external forces to support their own scheme, they will only fall into the abyss of eternal doom.

Also at Wednesday's press briefing, Ma responded to calls from both sides across the Taiwan Straits on the building of the Xiamen-Kinmen bridge after the much-anticipated Kinmen Bridge opened to traffic in late October. 

"We have consistently supported and taken positive initiatives to promote the construction of interconnectivity between the coastal areas of Fujian and Kinmen and Matsu in terms of access to water, gas, electricity and bridges. We have also been making various preparations over the years, and there is no problem at all on the technical front," Ma said. "The only barrier lies in the mainland policy pursued by the DPP authorities."

Global Times