Beijing accuses Lai Ching-te of undermining cross-strait peace

BEIJING Beijing has accused Taiwan President Lai Ching-te of undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait after Mr Lai said in his first National Day address that China "has no right to represent Taiwan".

- Lim Min Zhang

On Oct 10, China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) took aim at Mr Lai's recent comments about how China cannot be the "motherland" of Taiwan, instead insisting that "China has always been the great motherland of all Chinese people".

Beijing also sought to reframe Mr Lai's characterisation of crossstrait ties, saying that the struggle against "Taiwan independence" is not over political systems, but "between unification and division".

The TAO's rebuttal came after Mr Lai's assertive speech at Taiwan's annual celebration on Oct 10, when he repeated a line from his inauguration speech in May, that the "Republic of China (ROC) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) are not subordinate to each other".

Mr Lai also said that the "People's Republic of China has no right to represent Taiwan", and that he will "uphold the commitment to resist annexation or encroachment upon our sovereignty".

On Oct 5, Mr Lai had said at a concert that it was "impossible" for the PRC to become the "motherland" of the people of the ROC because the ROC is older.

He noted that the PRC celebrated its 75th anniversary on Oct 1, while the ROC would mark its 113th birthday on Oct 10.