TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office took aim at presidential candidate Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Saturday (Dec. 30) after a televised debate amongst Taiwan's three presidential hopefuls.
Chen Binhua (陳斌華) responded to Lai’s comments that Taiwan is “sovereign and independent”, and that Taiwan is not affiliated with China. Chen said that Lai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had obstructed cross-strait exchange and communication, and undermined peace in the region.
“As a leading figure in the DPP and current chairman of the DPP, Lai Ching-te cannot escape responsibility for this,” Chen said. In the past, Lai and the DPP have said that dialogue with Beijing would benefit both countries, though both have been rebuked as China views them as seeking Taiwan’s independence.
In addition to the “peace versus war” line used by the Taiwan Affairs Office to frame the election choice, Chen also described a choice between “prosperity and decline.” On Dec.21 China removed preferential tax status for 12 Taiwan goods, which some commentators described as election interference.
Shortly after the state council announcement, the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) said that it was confident both sides of the Taiwan Strait could resolve issues based on the 1992 consensus. The DPP has dismissed the consensus as irrelevant to Taiwan, while the opposition Kuomintang has made it a core part of its cross-strait policy.