'Independence' attempts will harm peace, stability, won't succeed, spokeswoman says

Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party administration has repeatedly purchased arms from the United States with taxpayers' money and attempts to seek "independence" by force, a mainland spokeswoman said on Wednesday, expressing firm opposition to US arms sales to Taiwan region and any forms of official exchanges or military contact between the US and the island.

Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remark in response to media reports that the Taiwan region recently signed an arms procurement contract with the US for a military communication system.

The island has signed the contract with the US to purchase a Field Information Communications System worth NT$6.99 billion ($245 million), which will be delivered by September 2025. It is follow-up implementation of a US arms sale plan to Taiwan from December 2020.

The administration of US President Joe Biden has approved two arms sales to Taiwan－a potential $750 million deal in August and $100 million in February－to boost the island's military capacity.

Zhu said, "The attempts to seek 'independence' by force will not succeed and will only harm peace and stability across the Straits and the interests of Taiwan residents."

According to a public opinion survey released on Tuesday by the Taipei-based Taiwan International Strategic Study Society, the island's residents have less confidence that the US will send troops to help Taiwan in the event of a war across the Straits.

In a survey the society conducted in October 2020, 55.1 percent of respondents said the US would do so, dropping to 42.7 percent in the recent poll conducted last week, the island's media reported.

On the future development of cross-Straits relations, 77.3 percent of the respondents said that peaceful exchanges should be maintained, while only 16.1 percent support confrontation with the mainland.

Zhu said, "More Taiwan compatriots have come to realize that the US puts its own interests first at all times and its commitments to others cannot be relied on at critical moments."

She said that the future of Taiwan and Taiwan compatriots' security and well-being, lie in the peaceful development of relations across the Straits and national reunification, rather than "empty promises" from external forces.

The DPP has miscalculated the situation as it looks for US support for its "independence" agenda and attempts to rely on external forces' help to split China, said Zhu.

The spokeswoman also called on Taiwan residents to clearly see the DPP's deception of relying on the US to seek "independence "and work together to achieve lasting peace across the Taiwan Straits.