Attempts to separate Taiwan from China won't succeed, senior official emphasizes

Senior officials on the Chinese mainland have called for joint efforts from both sides of the Taiwan Straits to work toward national reunification and fight against separatist activities and external intervention in affairs regarding Taiwan.

Song Tao, head of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said, "We will resolutely defend our national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and take firm action against separatist activities and external intervention."

Song, who became the new head of the offices recently, made the remark in a New Year's message published in this year's first issue of the Relations Across Taiwan Straits magazine, amid rising tensions across the Straits as external forces increasingly interfere in China's internal affairs.

"Resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese, and any attempt to separate Taiwan from China will never succeed," Song said.

Delivering his New Year address on Saturday, President Xi Jinping had called for joint efforts of the people across the Straits for the prosperity of the Chinese nation.

"The people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits are members of one and the same family. I sincerely hope that our compatriots on both sides of the Straits will work together with a unity of purpose to jointly foster lasting prosperity of the Chinese nation," he said.

Song said that in the past year the mainland maintained the initiative and ability to steer cross-Straits relations and united compatriots from both sides to advance cross-Straits ties. He said efforts were made to counter US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August and to effectively deter external forces from using the island to contain the mainland.

At the same time, he said, efforts were made to make the historical merits of the Taiwan question and the mainland's major principles and policies on work related to Taiwan clear to compatriots in Taiwan and to the international community.

The mainland took concrete measures to support Taiwan compatriots and businesses, and helped them resolve difficulties, Song noted. Last year, 10 Taiwan enterprises were listed on the mainland, bringing the total number of such companies listed on the mainland to 59.

More than 600 key cross-Straits exchange events have been held, with more than 100,000 people participating in them online and offline. The number of Taiwan students admitted to mainland universities last year increased by 22 percent compared with 2021, Song said.

The pursuit of peace, stability and development is the mainstream opinion in Taiwan society, he said, mentioning the defeat of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which sought confrontation with the mainland, in the local elections held on the island in November.

He said the election results also showed that "resisting the mainland to protect Taiwan" is an unpopular idea among the island's people.

More Taiwan compatriots have realized that reunification is the general trend, and peaceful reunification is in the best interest of compatriots on both sides and the entire nation, Song said.

"As long as compatriots from the two sides work together, they can resolve this family matter," he said, calling on people on both sides to jointly promote peace and stability in the Straits.

Zhang Zhijun, president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, said the new year is important for the building of a modern socialist country in an all-round way.

The mainland's higher-quality development, higher level of opening up, deeper domestic demand and more efficient governance will boost cross-Straits economic cooperation, which will benefit Taiwan residents, he said in his New Year's message carried in the magazine.