'Taiwan independence' and peace across Taiwan Strait cannot coexist: mainland spokesperson

BEIJING -- "Taiwan independence" and peace across the Taiwan Strait cannot coexist, as the former is also incompatible with the interests and welfare of Taiwan compatriots, a Chinese mainland spokesperson said Wednesday.

Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made the comments in response to a media query concerning the recent remarks of Lai Ching-te, a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) politician and candidate for the regional leader of Taiwan, who claimed he would follow Tsai Ing-wen's policies.

The fact that the cross-Strait relations have turned for the worse over the past eight years fully proved that Tsai's route is a route to "Taiwan independence," confrontation, and damage to Taiwan, and Lai's claim of following such a route meant he would keep pushing Taiwan further away from peace and prosperity, and closer to war and recession, Chen said.

The spokesperson said that only with peace and stability across the Strait and cross-Strait relations enjoying peaceful development can Taiwan compatriots lead peaceful, tranquil, and well-off lives.

He expressed hope that Taiwan compatriots would see the extreme harm of the DPP's "Taiwan independence" policy and the severe danger of Lai's instigation of cross-Strait conflicts and make the right choice at the crossroads of cross-Strait relations.