Political and civil groups in the Taiwan island protest against IPAC' interfering with the Taiwan question on July 30, 2024. Photo: Courtesy to Wang Wu-lang

Pro-reunification groups in Taiwan island expressed strong opposition on Tuesday against external interference on the Taiwan question and protested against attempts by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to collude with anti-China forces to destabilize cross-Straits relations as the International Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) held its annual conference in the island on the same day. 

Some 48 lawmakers from 24 countries arrived in Taipei on Sunday for the IPAC conference, a cross-country anti-China coalition formed in 2020. According to media reports, this year's annual IPAC meeting will focus on "crafting a coordinated campaign" aimed at maintaining so-called "stability and peace" across the Taiwan Straits.  
 
The so-called coalition is centered on maliciously hyping issues related to China and spreading lies and rumors about China, and has no credibility whatsoever, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Tuesday. 

Lin emphasized that there is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inseparable part of China's territory. The Taiwan question is purely a matter of China's internal affairs and any external interference will not be tolerated. 

Taiwan regional leader Lai Ching-te attended the IPAC meeting on Tuesday and claimed that "a threat from China to any country is a threat to the world." In response, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin said that the DPP authorities under Lai are seeking "Taiwan independence" by relying on military force, which is like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. 
 
The one-China principle is a fundamental norm in international relations and a universal consensus of the international community. The DPP authorities under Lai are going against the current, seeking independence and resisting reunification, which is destined to be a dead end, Lin said. 

"The Taiwan question is China's internal affair and not interfering with other countries' domestic affairs are international norms. Not allowing foreign forces to interfere with our internal affairs is the basic and shared stance of Taiwan people who are committed in safeguarding cross-Straits peace," a statement sent to the Global Times by the Cross-Straits Peace Forum on Tuesday read. 

The Cross-Straits Peace Forum and other pro-reunification political and civil groups in Taiwan island have organized a joint action to oppose foreign interference on the Taiwan question. On Tuesday, they protested against the IPAC conference and the DPP's collusion with anti-China forces and sent the joint statement to Luke de Pulford, the creator and Executive Director of IPAC

Hostility across the Taiwan Straits cannot bring peace. Anti-China and confrontational policies adopted by the DPP authorities and international politicians will not safeguard peace across the Taiwan Straits; instead, they will incite conflict, the statement said.

Wu Jung-yuan, chairman of the Labor Party, who participated in the protest activity on Tuesday, said that as a transnational alliance, IPAC must abide by international law and it should stop interfering in China's internal affairs. IPAC should respect the majority public opinion in Taiwan, which desires peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.

Chi Chia-Lin, president of the Reunification Alliance Party in Taiwan, said that IPAC is a thoroughly anti-China organization that deceives the world under the guise of a so-called "global parliament." Residents on Taiwan island should resolutely oppose IPAC's illegal interference in Taiwan Straits affairs.

Against the backdrop of the international community's widespread adherence to the one-China principle, the IPAC politicians' political stunts in Taiwan not only waste public resources but are also futile in changing the reality, Wang Wu-lang, secretary-general of the Cross-Straits Peace Forum, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The DPP authorities' pursuit of "Taiwan independence" is unsustainable and unachievable. More and more people will realize that Taiwan separatism and external interference are the true disruptors of peace and the main sources of instability in the Straits and the region, Wang said.