Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, speaks at a press conference in Beijing, China, Feb 23, 2022. (CHEN YEHUA / XINHUA)
BEIJING – A spokesperson on Thursday said punishments the Chinese mainland announced targeting die-hard "Taiwan independence" elements and external interference are justified, legitimate and reasonable.
Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said any sovereign state will take such measures to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests in accordance with international law and basic norms governing international relations.
Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said the visit of Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the US House of Representatives, to China's Taiwan region was by no means "a defense of democracy and freedom," but an act of provocation against China's sovereignty and territorial integrity
Ma said the visit of Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the US House of Representatives, to China's Taiwan region was by no means "a defense of democracy and freedom," but an act of provocation against China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Noting that the Taiwan question is a matter of China's internal affairs, Ma said it is just and natural for China to take necessary countermeasures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The spokesperson also called on relevant organizations and individuals to take concrete steps to honor their commitment to the one-China principle and stop their interference and provocation acts.
Ma also said Bi-khim Hsiao, who spared no effort in promoting the visit of Pelosi to Taiwan, will face a reckoning of history.
Ma said that Hsiao has been frequently disseminating remarks on seeking "Taiwan independence" and soliciting US political personages for visiting Taiwan with all her might.
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Ma noted that Hsiao's actions pose brazen provocation to the one-China principle, severely damage cross-Straits relationships, and further aggravate the tensions across the Taiwan Straits.
In seeking personal political interests, Hsiao degrades herself to be a pawn of external anti-China forces, undermines the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation, and pushes Taiwan compatriots into an abyss of danger, Ma noted.
On Wednesday, Ma said the meeting between Pelosi and so-called human rights activists was just another farce.
Ma said the current tensions across the Taiwan Straits originate from the collusion between "Taiwan independence" secessionists and external forces
The activists she met and bolstered on Wednesday are long-known tools and puppets of US anti-China forces, he said.
Highlighting the guise of so-called "human rights" and "democracy" on the Taiwan question, Pelosi is simply seeking her own personal gain, he said, adding that the US mid-term elections are approaching and there have been scandals around the Pelosi family.
The spokesperson also warned the DPP authorities that the agenda of roping in anti-China forces, inciting cross-strait confrontation and engaging in secessionist acts under the guise of democracy and human rights will never succeed.
‘Tsai confounding right and wrong’
Blasting Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen's words for confusing right and wrong, Ma said Tsai whitewashed the "Taiwan independence" secessionist agenda as so-called "upholding democracy" while defaming the mainland's justified actions of safeguarding national security and territorial integrity as "military threats."
The spokesperson made the statement in response to a media query about Tsai’s remarks during her meeting with Pelosi on Wednesday.
The current tensions across the Taiwan Straits originate from the collusion between "Taiwan independence" secessionists and external forces, said Ma.
The DPP authorities actively solicit foreign support and deeply engage in provocative actions, and the US has constantly been fueling the tensions in an attempt to use Taiwan to contain China, he added.
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There is no denying that the DPP authorities and the US are the ones who seek to instigate cross-strait confrontations, disrupt peace and stability across the straits, and damage the interests of the Taiwan people, said Ma.
He warned Tsai and the DPP authorities that relying on Washington to seek "Taiwan independence" will inevitably fail, and that "seeking independence by force" will only hasten their demise.