Zhu Fenglian Photo: Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council

A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Wednesday slammed the Lai Ching-te authorities for their shameless act of groveling flattery toward Japan, criticizing them for disregarding the heinous crimes committed by Japan during its colonial rule over Taiwan and seizing the opportunity to spread pro-Japan fallacies.

Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remarks at a regular press conference when asked to comment on Lai's swift congratulations to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi after the Liberal Democratic Party's victory in Japan's House of Representatives election. Lai claimed he looked forward to continuing "shared values" between Taiwan and Japan and jointly addressing "regional challenges." Meanwhile, "Taiwan's representative to Japan," Lee Yi-yang, wrote on Facebook that Taiwan-Japan ties would continue to warm, with further cooperation to be expected in economic and industrial fields. 

Zhu said the Chinese Foreign Ministry has already stated its position on Japan's lower house election. She urged the Japanese side to fully recognize the high sensitivity of the Taiwan question, strictly abide by the one-China principle and the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan, retract Takaichi's erroneous Taiwan-related remarks, handle Taiwan-related issues prudently, and demonstrate with concrete actions its commitment to the one-China principle.

Global Times