Beijing, Nov 27 (EFE).- China said Wednesday that Taiwanese President William Lai’s proposal to promote the two-state theory is a fallacy.
Chen Binhua, Beijing’s spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office, responded to recent criticism from Ma Ying-jeou, former Taiwanese president and leading figure of the Kuomintang, the main Taiwanese opposition party. On Sunday, he accused Lai of promoting a theory he defined as “unnecessary, unfeasible and unrealistic.”
“Reunification is a historical trend and the only correct path,” Chen said.
He also said China would continue to strengthen cooperation with Taiwanese parties and organizations that respect the 1992 Consensus, a political basis that recognizes the existence of “one China,” just like Ma, who promoted closer ties between Beijing and Taipei during his term and urged maintaining dialogue under the same framework.
A delegation of 40 students and teachers from seven universities on the continent began a Wednesday visit to Taiwan organized by the Ma Ying-jeou Cultural and Educational Foundation.
The group will participate in academic exchanges and cultural activities with local institutions.
Chen said this initiative seeks to “foster interaction and understanding” between young people on both sides of the Strait and “strengthen ties of friendship,” although recently students and teaching staff have also been the subject of growing tensions between Beijing and Taipei.
At a recent event dedicated to young people on the island, Lai presented the so-called “three options for peace,” which reject agreements based on the 1992 Consensus.
The spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office criticized these statements Wednesday, accusing the Taiwanese president of manipulating young people to accept “separatist positions” and calling his proposal “shameful and morally reprehensible.”
“Lai’s so-called ‘path to peace’ ignores the security and well-being of Taiwan’s youth and the population in general,” said the spokesman, who added that these statements “prepare the ground for war” and trace “a self-destructive path.”
China claims sovereignty over Taiwan, a territory it considers a rebel province since Kuomintang nationalists retreated there in 1949 after losing the war against the Communist Army. EFE
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