Secessionists warned about 'red lines'

Mainland to take 'resolute measures'if provoked on Taiwan question

Resolute measures will be taken if the "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces dare to make provocations, or even cross the red line, a Chinese mainland spokeswoman said on Wednesday over Taiwan politicians' comments about a war across the Taiwan Straits.

"We are patient and willing to do our utmost to strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification. At the same time, we will never tolerate 'Taiwan independence'," Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said at a news conference in Beijing.

Zhu's remarks came after media reported that Chen Ming-tong, head of the island's security authority, claimed recently that the mainland has learned from the Russia-Ukraine conflict that if it launched a war against Taiwan, it would be a "comprehensive one".

A recent poll conducted by Global Views Monthly, a Taiwan-based news magazine, showed more than half of Taiwan people surveyed were unwilling to go to war in the event of one between the two sides. Among the respondents aged 20 to 29, the percentage of those who didn't want to go to war was about 70 percent.

Yang Nien-dzu, the island's former head of "defense", said recently that if the two sides started a war, the People's Liberation Army would be able to finish the battle in a day or two, media on the island reported.

Zhu said more Taiwan compatriots have come to realize that "Taiwan independence" means war, and "Taiwan independence" separation is the biggest threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.

"For a long time, the Democratic Progressive Party authorities on the island have deceived the people of Taiwan by making up lies. They thought they got away with it, but a lie is a lie and it will not deceive the people," she said.

She said that being used as "cannon fodder" by the DPP to seek "independence" runs counter to the common aspiration of Taiwan compatriots for peace, development and a better life.

In response to the island's residents' declining confidence that the US will send troops to help Taiwan in the event of a war across the Straits shown in recent public opinion surveys, Zhu said more Taiwan compatriots have realized that foreign forces have been using the Taiwan question to contain the mainland, at the expense of the interests of Taiwan people.

The DPP has been taking action such as proposing to extend compulsory military service, expanding the military budget and inciting people to resist the mainland, which are acts of pure political manipulation for its own selfish interests, she said.