DPP accused of spreading lies to curb ties

Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authorities have spared no effort to restrict and obstruct exchanges across the Taiwan Strait, fearing that the "information cocoons" they have created will continue to be punctured, a Chinese mainland spokesperson said on Wednesday.

At a regular news conference, Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said the DPP authorities have resorted to tactics including suppression, intimidation and rumormongering, while the island's "mainland affairs council" has been at the forefront, becoming a "stumbling block" to cross-Strait exchanges and interactions.

"They have tried every possible means to prevent people on both sides from visiting each other and maintaining close ties," she said.

Zhu made the remarks in response to recent comments by the "mainland affairs council" on a new regulation on exit and entry administration issued by the State Council, China's Cabinet, which will take effect on Sept 15.

Taiwan's "mainland affairs council" claimed that the regulation could affect Taiwan residents who invest or work in the technology sector on the mainland and urged them to be alert to the purported "risks".

Zhu said the regulation will help safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait in their exchanges and create a better law-based environment for Taiwan compatriots visiting the mainland.

Reassuring Taiwan residents that they have no need to worry about risks when traveling to the mainland, Zhu accused the DPP authorities of deliberately spreading alarm with ulterior motives.

"Faced with the unstoppable tide of cross-Strait exchanges and interactions, what the DPP authorities fear most is that the information cocoons they have created will continue to be punctured and the false 'Taiwan independence' narratives they have constructed will continue to be exposed," she said. "That is why they have resorted to making such reckless and unfounded statements."

Zhu also condemned the DPP authorities for continuing to delay allowing mainland residents to travel to Taiwan due to their "Taiwan independence" stance, saying the policy has artificially severed the tourism market across the Taiwan Strait.

"This will only cause Taiwan to miss out on the enormous potential of the mainland's tourist market," she said.

According to local media reports, Taiwan recorded a tourism deficit of 6.36 million person-trips in the first half of this year. Industry representatives on the island attributed the shortfall mainly to the continued absence of regular travel by mainland tourists to Taiwan, calling on the DPP authorities to reopen the island to mainland tourists as soon as possible.

The DPP authorities have also required civil servants in Taiwan to submit applications when traveling to the mainland to visit relatives, along with contact information for their mainland relatives and friends, drawing criticism from the public.

Zhu said the move was a further infringement on the personal privacy of Taiwan residents.

"They aim to prevent Taiwan people from visiting the mainland, while what they fear is that more people will see through their true motives of deceiving and inciting people with lies to pursue political self-interest by promoting 'anti-China' and 'resisting China'," she said.

Zhu said the mainland has been actively promoting exchanges between people on both sides. From Aug 24 to 28, relevant youth organizations from both sides will jointly host a cross-Strait youth exchange event in Shanghai, as part of efforts to implement the institutionalized platform for two-way youth exchanges between the Communist Party of China and the Chinese Kuomintang, outlined in 10 policy measures released by the mainland in April.

lishangyi@chinadaily.com.cn