Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council. Photo:VCG

Public opinion of the Taiwan region recently holds that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has gradually shifted its strategy from seeking "de jure Taiwan independence" to pursuing "de facto Taiwan independence through identity and culture." A spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office said on Wednesday that no matter what tricks Lai Ching-te and the DPP employ, they will all be in vain and cannot change the fact that both sides of the Taiwan Straits belong to one China.

Spokesperson Chen Binhua made the remarks when asked to comment on the DPP shift. He said that there is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is part of China. This is an unshakable historical and legal fact, and a universal consensus of the international community. Taiwan has never been a country, and it will never become one. 

Driven by its inherent separatist agenda and political self-interest, the DPP authorities have relentlessly pushed for "Taiwan cultural independence" and "de-sinicization," attempting to distort the national identity of Taiwan compatriots. Such acts of betraying one's heritage and nation are doomed to be condemned by history. "We will never tolerate or overlook any form of separatist activities toward 'Taiwan independence,'" the spokesperson said. 

No tricks Lai and the DPP use will work, Chen said. They can never alter the fact that both sides of the Taiwan Straits belong to one China, sever the blood bond between compatriots across the Straits, erase the profound influence of Chinese culture on Taiwan society and Taiwan compatriots, nor stop the inevitable historical trend of national reunification, Chen added.

According to media reports by UDN and the China Times on the island, in response to Lai's speech marking the second anniversary of his inauguration, Chang Ya-ping, director of the KMT's mainland affairs department, stated that the DPP's current strategy has gradually shifted from "de jure Taiwan independence" to "substantive Taiwan independence through identity and culture." 

Through language, education, identity construction, and international narratives, they attempt to slowly get the Taiwan people and the world accustomed to certain Taiwan-independence claims, per the report by UDN.

Unable to achieve "de jure Taiwan independence" amid the mainland's firm stance and local opposition on the island, the DPP authorities are trying to get away with deception, Zhang Wensheng, deputy dean and a professor at the Taiwan Research Institute at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

They instill independence views and portray the two sides of the Straits as two non-affiliated countries, Zhang said, adding that their ploys are transparent to most, yet still deceptive to a certain extent.

Chen said that "Taiwan independence" is fundamentally incompatible with peace across the Taiwan Straits. "We hope compatriots in Taiwan will see through the true nature and sinister intentions of the DPP authorities' separatist pursuits, stay firmly identified with the Chinese nation, Chinese culture and the motherland, and foster the aspiration, integrity and confidence to be upright Chinese people," he said.

"Let us stand united to resolutely oppose all forms of separatist acts toward 'Taiwan independence' and safeguard the common home of the Chinese nation," Chen said.