Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office Photo: VCG

Lai Ching-te continued to propagate the "two-state" rhetoric by claiming in his speech that the two sides are "not subordinate" to each other, fabricating fallacies about "Taiwan independence," advocating separatist views, and inciting hostility and confrontation across the Taiwan Straits, Chen Binhua, a spokesperson of the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, said on Thursday, slamming Taiwan regional leader Lai who trumpeted secessionism in his provocative "Double Ten" (October 10) speech on Thursday morning.

This clearly demonstrates that Lai stubbornly adheres to the stance of "Taiwan independence," is filled with confrontational thinking, continuously provokes and stirs up trouble, and deliberately creates tensions across the Taiwan Straits, severely undermining peace and stability, Chen said.

Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and the people of Taiwan are part of the Chinese nation. The Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate government of the whole of China, including Taiwan region. China has always been the motherland of all Chinese people, and upholding the one-China principle has always been a common consensus in the international community, Chen noted.

"Double Ten Day" is a public holiday on the island of Taiwan originally meant to commemorate the 1911 Revolution, which began on October 10, 1911. Yet, it is seen by observers as another farce staged by the secessionist Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities that serves to promote secessionist fantasies.

In his speech, Lai said that The People's Republic of China has no right to represent Taiwan and they are "not subordinate to each other." He stressed determination to safeguard "national sovereignty" through enhancing "national defense."

Analysts said that Lai's speech, which repeatedly contrasted China and Taiwan and did not reflect any notion of the one-China principle, was extremely confrontational.

Taiwan has never been a country and will never be a country, and thus has no so-called sovereignty, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday.

"There is but one China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory. The government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China," Mao said on Thursday in response to Lai's secessionist speech, stressing that the attempt to seek independence and make provocations will lead nowhere.

Lai's words attempt to sever the historical connections between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits. He is again peddling various versions of "Taiwan independence" narrative, such as "China and Taiwan are not subordinate to each other" and "Taiwan has sovereignty," Mao said.

Wang Yingjin, director of the Center for Cross-Straits Relations Studies at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times that Lai's speech is a further endorsement of his new "two-state" rhetoric, which is absurd and deceitful.

From his speech, we can see that Lai remains unchanged in his secessionist stance, confrontational attitude, and hostility toward the mainland, Wang said. 

Lai continues to peddle his new "two-state" rhetoric to confuse the international community, internationalize the Taiwan question, and seek more external support for his advocacy of "Taiwan independence," Wang noted, adding that Lai's deeds are seriously damaging cross-Straits relations and are a provocation to peace and stability. 

"There is no doubt that Lai will continue to push for Taiwan secession, and people should not have any illusions about him," Wang noted.

Lai's speech also provoked opposition on the island of Taiwan. According to a poll conducted by pro-DPP media and released on Wednesday, Lai's approval rating has slipped 3 percentage points from September to the lowest since July, with 32.4 percent of respondents clearly expressing dissatisfaction.

Eric Chu, chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang Party (KMT), urged the DPP and Lai to "abandon the narrow ideology of Taiwan secession" as it is a dead-end that creates a dilemma for Taiwan, and it is opposed by the international community. 

Former KMT chairperson and former Taiwan regional leader Ma Ying-jeou announced on Wednesday that he would not attend the "Double Ten" events, as Lai's advocacy of the new "two-state" rhetoric and pursuit of secession will put Taiwan people in danger. 

Ma said that Taiwan and the mainland are not two countries but two regions that can coexist peacefully with each other. Ma described Lai as an 'unadulterated troublemaker.'

Taiwan's opposition Labor Party also criticized Lai's speech in a media release sent to Global Times as a "wrapped up secessionist stance with the new 'two-state' rhetoric of resisting China and rejecting reunification." The party also called on the Taiwan people to uphold the principle that the two sides of the Taiwan Straits belong to one China, and oppose all kinds of erroneous viewpoints intended to perpetuate cross-Straits confrontation. 

Zheng Jian, a professor at the Taiwan Research Institute of Xiamen University, told the Global Times that Lai's speech ignored both the mainstream public opinion in Taiwan against secession and people's wish for peaceful development across the Straits, and misinterpreted the international community's demand for peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits and the universal adherence to the one-China principle. 

It's an outright high-intensity provocation no matter how it is disguised in rhetoric, Zheng noted. 

Some Taiwan-based analysts said that with unfavorable developments in conflict zones in the Middle East and Ukraine, it cannot be ruled out that the Biden administration will try to shift the focus by playing the "Taiwan card." 

The US should honor its pledge not to support Taiwan secession, so as to avoid creating a situation in which secessionists get out of control and cause a great catastrophe to the peace and stability of the Taiwan Straits, or even drag the US down with it, experts said.