Zhu Fenglian Photo: Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities of Taiwan are desperately seeking to align with the US, stubbornly accelerating their attempts to seek "Taiwan independence" by force and by relying on external forces, which has led to tension and instability in the Taiwan Straits, seriously threatening security and wellbeing of Taiwan people, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council warned on Wednesday, slamming DPP authorities' Han Kuang war game. 

The DPP authorities are hyping the so-called mainland threat and squandering the hard-earned money of the people in the island to buy weapons from the US, Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said at a press briefing on Wednesday. By catering to the US, they are tying the island to the "Taiwan independence" chariot step by step, forcing Taiwan people to become "cannon fodder" for "Taiwan independence," the spokesperson said. 

The island of Taiwan on Monday launched the live action phase of its annual Han Kuang war game, claiming to mimic actual combat in which the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) blockades the island.

The exercise is scheduled to last until Friday, with an emphasis on testing the island's ability to protect critical infrastructure in Taipei and enhance the resilience of key infrastructure across the island, according to media on the island.

The military in the island has also suggested converting some temples to munitions depots in case of conflict. This has led to resistance from residents concerned that sacred sites might be damaged or destroyed, media reports said.

Zhu called for the DPP authorities to abandon their attempts to seek "Taiwan independence" by force and by relying on external forces, and stop leading Taiwan into a dangerous situation of war and crisis.

The essence of the war game that is held regularly on the island is to provoke confrontation. Picturing the mainland as its enemy serves its real purpose of beefing up DPP authorities' military collaboration with the US, including intelligence sharing, Wang Jianmin, a senior cross-Straits expert at Minnan Normal University in Fujian, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

"Adopting a strategy of confrontation with the mainland can only lead to further deterioration of cross-Straits relations, escalating the tension even more, resulting in even less room for negotiation. I am concerned about the future of cross-Straits relations," Wang said. 

Recently, former US president Donald Trump accused Taiwan of "stealing" American chip business and suggested it pay the US for defense in a Bloomberg interview, media reported.

In response to Trump's remarks, Zhu said the people in Taiwan see clearly that the US always prioritizes so-called America first, and Taiwan will not be an exception. 

Zhu said on Wednesday that more and more people in the island strongly oppose and are dissatisfied with moves of the DPP. They fully realize that "relying on the US" will only "harm Taiwan."