The General Administration of Customs announced plans to resume imports of Wendan pomelos from the Taiwan region, starting on September 2, 2024. Illustration: VCG

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities in the island of Taiwan should take practical actions to stop harming cross-Straits relations and the interests and well-being of people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

Zhu made the remarks in response to allegations made by Taiwan's mainland affairs council that the mainland's recent announcement on halting tariff exemptions on 34 types of agricultural imports from the Taiwan island, effective from Wednesday, was "economic coercion" undertaken for political reasons.

Zhu dismissed the claim of "economic coercion" as totally misleading. Since 2005, in order to expand the sales of Taiwan's agricultural products in the mainland, the mainland announced zero-tariff measures for imports of 15 types of fruits, 11 types of vegetables and eight types of aquatic products from the Taiwan island, bringing tangible benefits to the compatriots on the island.

Regrettably, in recent years, the DPP authorities have stubbornly adhered to the separatist stance of "Taiwan independence," escalating hostility and confrontation across the Straits and obstructing cross-Straits exchanges and cooperation. 

The DPP authorities still unilaterally restrict the import of more than 1,000 types of agricultural products from the mainland, which has severely damaged the interests of compatriots on both sides of the Straits. In light of this, the mainland decided to suspend the tariff exemption policy for 34 types of agricultural products from the island, effective from Wednesday, Zhu said.

The DPP authorities should take practical moves to stop harming cross-Straits relations and the interests and well-being of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, the spokesperson noted.

In terms of importing pomelos from the island, Zhu said that since the resumption of importing Taiwan pomelos on September 2, multiple batches of pomelos have been sold to the mainland. Farmers on the island noted that they felt "like they were receiving a Mid-Autumn Festival gift," believing it has helped expand their sales channels and address overproduction on the island.

However, the DPP authorities are unhappy about this, indiscriminately slandering the mainland. This fully demonstrates that they do not care about the interests of farmers on the island but are motivated by the selfish interests of the DPP. They fear closer ties between the compatriots across the Straits and are afraid of both sides sharing well-being, Zhu noted.

"The farmers on the island know very well who is truly considering their interests and who is harming them," Zhu said.