At the December 31 press conference of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, a reporter asked for comment on Taiwan’s executive authorities recently approving draft amendments to the “Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area.” The proposed revisions would add new provisions requiring certain categories of people—such as elected representatives and county or city heads who have left office for less than three years—to obtain approval before traveling to the mainland. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council claimed that the move is intended to enhance security safeguards and strengthen civic oversight to prevent the mainland’s so-called “united front infiltration.”
In response, Zhang Han, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said that driven by their inherent pursuit of “independence,” the Democratic Progressive Party authorities are scheming to restrict cross-Strait exchanges and undermine cross-Strait relations. They are carrying out what he described as “Taiwan independence authoritarianism” and “green terror” on the island, creating widespread anxiety and insecurity throughout Taiwanese society. These actions have already drawn increasing opposition and condemnation from the people of Taiwan.
Facts have already proven—and will continue to prove—that the prevailing public will for peace, development, exchange, and cooperation cannot be suppressed. The surging tide of cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation cannot be stopped.