Photo: Screenshot from Chinese Consulate-General in Auckland

The China Peaceful Reunification Federation of New Zealand recently issued a statement expressing strong protest and firm opposition to Taiwan regional leader Lai Ching-te's planned "transit" through the US, according to a release from the Chinese Consulate-General in Auckland on Monday. 

The statement stated that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities have stubbornly insisted a "Taiwan independence" path and denied the basic principle that both sides of the Taiwan Straits belong to one China. 

It said Lai's "transit" through the US once again seriously undermines China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and jeopardizes peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits. "Taiwan independence" leads nowhere, and any attempt to collude with external forces in pursuit of independence is doomed to fail. 

The statement reiterated strong opposition to any form of official interaction between the US and the Taiwan island, firmly opposing visits by "Taiwan independence" separatists to the US under any pretext, and opposing any US support or tolerance of separatist forces and their activities.

The statement emphasized that realizing national reunification is the shared aspiration and sacred duty of Chinese people at home and abroad, and called on overseas Chinese in New Zealand to unite in opposing any external forces seeking to undermine China's unity.

On Saturday, the Chinese Embassy in Peru reposted a statement from the Association for the Peaceful Reunification of China in Peru, firmly opposing Lai's "transit" through the US. The statement also called on Latin American and Caribbean countries to recognize the prevailing global trend, uphold the one-China principle, approach Taiwan-related issues with caution, resist manipulation by "Taiwan independence" forces, and jointly safeguard international fairness, justice, and regional peace and stability.

In response to a media query about Lai's scheduled visit to Paraguay, Guatemala, and Belize in August, with planned "transit" stops in New York and Dallas, Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, voiced firm opposition earlier to any form of official interaction between the United States and China's Taiwan region, and denounced Lai's attempt to "transit" through the US under any pretext or in any form.

Global Times