Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office has blamed the island’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s stance on independence for last week’s measures targeting imports from the island and warned that more could be on the way.
Chen Binhua, a spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office, said on Wednesday that the party’s attitude “is the root cause of the difficulty in resolving issues related to the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA)”.
Chen said that the DPP had rejected the 1992 consensus – an unofficial agreement that there is only one China but the parties may disagree about what that means – and was seeking independence.
He also said it had started “attacking” the ECFA before it came to power in 2016 and taken “discriminatory trade-restrictive measures” against the mainland, which had led to Beijing’s suspension of tariff concessions on 12 products effective from January 1.
Chen also said the Taiwan Affairs Office will support further trade measures if the DPP insists on a pro-independence stance.
Taiwanese voters will elect their next president on January 13. Beijing has repeatedly attacked the front runner, the DPP’s William Lai Ching-te, and his running mate Hsiao Bi-khim as supporters of Taiwan independence.
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Chen’s comment is the first official confirmation from Beijing that political considerations were behind Thursday’s announcement on tariffs.
Beijing’s tariff office said the move was the result of Taiwan “unilaterally adopting discriminatory measures against mainland exports” and violating some of the ECFA’s provisions.
The agreement, which was signed in 2010, listed 806 items that were eligible for tariff reductions.
In response, Lai, currently the island’s Vice-President, accused Beijing of interfering in Taiwan’s presidential election by announcing the measure during a visit to the Chinese mainland by Andrew Hsia Li-yan, vice-chairman of the mainland-friendly Kuomintang opposition.
Hsia’s 10-day visit was his fourth trip to the mainland this year, and was apparently intended to win support among Taiwan’s business community and mainland-based voters.
Chen said the DPP’s accusations that Beijing was interfering in the election were “groundless”.
Beijing regards Taiwan as a breakaway province that must eventually be reunited with mainland China – by force if necessary. Most countries do not officially recognise Taiwan to be an independent state, but many, including the United States, oppose changing the status quo by force.
Lai said in a television interview earlier this month that if he is elected, “the risk of a cross-strait war is minimal”.
Xi says Taiwan unification will ‘surely’ happen as he marks Mao anniversary
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Although he once promised to be a “pragmatic worker for Taiwan independence” he has since moderated his stance by saying there is no need for Taiwan to declare independence as it is already sovereign.
On Wednesday, Chen responded to Lai’s statement by saying that “Taiwan independence means war”. He added that the Taiwanese people, and even Lai himself, would not believe his comments.
Chen also said that Beijing could continue working to resume imports of agricultural and fishery products from Taiwan after last week’s announcements that imports of grouper fish, which had been suspended since June last year, would resume.
Chen said the move reflected the importance Beijing attached to “grass roots people such as Taiwan’s farmers and fishermen”.
Chen also warned the DPP not to “deprive Taiwan compatriots on the mainland of their right to vote” after Taipei expressed concern about the recent wave of respiratory illnesses on the mainland – a situation Beijing says has eased.
“It is the right of Taiwan compatriots on the mainland to return to Taiwan to vote,” Chen said.
