![Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, attends a press conference in Beijing, capital of China, Nov 10, 2021. Photo:Xinhua](https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2023/2023-08-17/e98de608-a034-4490-891d-317e673acfca.jpeg)
Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, attends a press conference in Beijing, capital of China. Photo:Xinhua
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities on the island of Taiwan have always stood on the wrong side of history and against the interests and well-being of Taiwan compatriots, a Chinese mainland spokesperson said in response to the DPP's smearing of the mainland's latest document to facilitate integrated development across the Taiwan Straits. Analysts said that despite the DPP's stigmatizing attacks, the mainland will remain determined to promote cross-Straits integrated development in the interests of the whole Chinese nation and for the well-being of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits.
Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remarks at a press briefing on Wednesday. She noted that the latest document was issued to provide the greatest convenience, the best conditions and the strongest protection possible for the vast number of Taiwan compatriots studying, working and living in East China's Fujian Province, and fully demonstrates the goodwill and sincerity of the mainland to the vast number of Taiwan compatriots. It will have a huge and far-reaching impact on the peaceful and integrated development cross the Taiwan Straits, Zhu said.
On September 12,
China's State Council released a new document that outlines supporting measures to develop Fujian into the first home for Taiwan compatriots and enterprises in the Chinese mainland. The document lists general requirements and 21 specific measures for building a demonstration zone, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
After the document was released, the heads of political parties on the island, experts, scholars and media personalities on the island made positive comments, saying that the mainland has released full goodwill and provided more development opportunities for Taiwan compatriots.
However, the DPP authorities and their mouthpieces smeared that the mainland "intended to lure Taiwan people and businesses" into the mainland's system of regulations by pulling them in with economic benefits.
The slanderous attacks by DPP authorities on mainland policies show the correctness and necessity of the mainland's path, Wang Jianmin, a senior cross-Straits expert at Minnan Normal University in Fujian Province, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
According to the expert, the political struggle between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits has, to a certain extent, changed from the past struggle for reunification and secession into a struggle for integration and counter-integration.
The DPP authorities have already adopted a series of policies and regulations to obstruct cross-Straits integration and they may create more obstacles for Taiwan people and business in the future, Wang said.
However, "the DPP cannot fundamentally obstruct the general trend of integration and development which is longed for by Taiwan people," Wang said, adding that the mainland will remain determined to promote cross-Straits integrated development in the interests of the Chinese nation as a whole and for the well-being of compatriots on both sides of the Straits.
The construction of the demonstration zone promoted by the mainland is not on the island of Taiwan, but in Fujian Province. It will provide facilities for schooling and employment, so that Taiwan compatriots will be more integrated into the process of economic and social development on the mainland, and this is something that the mainland side can fully lead, Wang said.
"Integrated development is not only a policy measure before reunification, but also something that both sides of the Taiwan Straits should continue to promote after reunification," Wang said.
It is worth noting that on the same day as the mainland's document was released, the DPP authorities issued its annual defense report, emphasizing the enhancement of asymmetric warfare weaponry, as well as the strengthening of urban warfare capabilities.
It exposes the DPP authorities' sinister intentions of being a pawn of external forces, trying to push cross-Straits confrontation while ignoring the safety and security of Taiwan compatriots, Zhu said. "In comparison, it is self-evident who is seeking development and enhancing the well-being of Taiwan compatriots, and who is creating danger and risks of war," she said.