BEIJING -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Wednesday condemned the Democratic Progressive Party authority in Taiwan and the "Taiwan independence" elements for holding people on the island hostage and acting as a pawn of Western anti-China forces.

Denouncing them as the chief culprit jeopardizing peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits and cross-Straits ties, Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said their acts have severely damaged the common interests of compatriots across the Straits and the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation.

Zhu said attempts to seek "Taiwan independence" are against the tide of history and a doomed dead-end alley that leads to nothing but risks to Taiwan that it can ill afford, as well as serious harm to 23 million people on the island.

Only by curbing "Taiwan independence" can the peaceful and steady development of cross-Straits relations be secured, and the interests and wellbeing of compatriots on both sides of the Strait be improved and maintained, she said.

And only by returning to the right path with the political foundation of the 1992 Consensus can the two sides of the Straits resume dialogue and consultation, improve cross-Straits relations, and keep the peace and stability across the Strait, she stressed.