Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities have rushed to hype up an incident in which Japanese former reporter Akio Yaita, who supports the DPP's secessionist agenda, was reportedly attacked by a Hong Kong resident in Taichung, Taiwan region, using it to smear the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law with the aim to stoke cross-Straits friction while misleading and intimidating Taiwan residents, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office said on Wednesday.

The remarks were made when asked to comment on the incident, with Taiwan regional authorities describing the incident as the "first cross-border repression case" seen since the law was put into effect and claimed possibility of using Hong Kong resident's convenience on the island for relevant cases. 

The spokesperson Chen Binhua said during Wednesday's press conference that the man from Hong Kong acted out of righteous indignation, and the episode amounts to nothing more than an isolated ordinary public security incident. 

"The DPP's malicious acts have drawn disapproval even from people in Taiwan. We solemnly caution the DPP authorities against violating the Hong Kong man's legitimate rights and interests and demand they guarantee the inviolability of his personal and property safety," Chen added.

The 33-year-old suspect, surnamed Liu from Hong Kong, was arrested Monday afternoon after he punched Yaita in the face on Monday, according to Focus Taiwan, the English-language version of the island's Central News Agency, on Wednesday. The attack occurred after the Japanese figure delivered a speech at a hotel in Taichung. An investigation is underway to establish a motive for the attack and whether Liu had an accomplice, police said.

Holding Hong Kong permanent residency, Liu arrived in the Taiwan region on Thursday as a tourist and checked into a Taichung hotel. Police said Liu had attempted to leave Taiwan from the Taichung airport before being arrested, per the media report.

The matter has been reported by multiple Taiwan media outlets, with the Taiwan regional authorities hyping up the law in connection with the attack.

Zheng Jian, a professor at the Graduate Institute for Taiwan Studies of Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the DPP authorities rely on anti-mainland confrontation to sustain their rule, so they connect any policy and measure rolled out by the Chinese mainland to the island.  

Their deliberate smear of the law stems from a simple truth - the more united and cohesive the country and Chinese nation become, the less room there will be for separatist forces, Zheng said.

Furthermore, Yaita has also repeatedly issued hostile remarks targeting China, and he once claimed that there existed no credible evidence to confirm the exact death toll of victims in the Nanjing Massacre, one of the most barbaric episodes of World War II, according to media reports. Zheng said that people with a sense of justice, will all hold grievances against his acts, whether they are from the mainland, or compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan island.

Regarding the law, Chen also said on Wednesday that it clearly stipulates that legal means shall be adopted to counter all illegal acts involving ethnic affairs. Rooted in China's national conditions, consistent with legal principles and aligned with international common practices, this law constitutes a just and necessary measure to safeguard national sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, Chen said.

DPP attacks on the law is aimed to fabricate excuses for its acts that betray the nation, secession the country, jeopardize cross-Straits relations and restrict exchanges. 

"Should 'Taiwan independence' forces dare to engage in acts that split the nation and undermine ethnic unity, we will impose resolute punishment on them in accordance with the law," Chen added.