China issued a warning to Taiwan’s voters on Thursday, telling them to cast their ballots wisely in the island’s weekend elections. It called the front-runner for president a “severe danger,” one who would jeopardize peace by choosing the “evil path” of independence.

In a flashpoint region, democratic Taiwan is set to hold a crucial election in two days that will be closely observed by everyone from Beijing to Washington, as the winner will decide the island’s future relations with an increasingly assertive China.

China has never given up on using force to annex Taiwan because it sees it as a breakaway province.

Vice President Lai Ching-te, the frontrunner of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, has portrayed himself as a defender of Taiwan’s democracy and has drawn the ire of China over his comments about independence — a red line for Beijing.

In a statement on Thursday, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office warned that Lai “will further push for Taiwan independence separatist activities (and create) turbulence in the Taiwan Strait” if elected.

“(He) would continue to follow the evil path of provoking independence and... take Taiwan ever further away from peace and prosperity, and ever closer to war and decline,” it said.

“We sincerely hope that most Taiwan compatriots will see the extreme harm of the DPP’s Taiwan independence line and the severe danger of Lai Ching-te in his instigation of cross-strait conflicts.”

Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu criticized China’s “repeated interference” in the election.

“Taiwan’s upcoming elections are in the international spotlight and (China’s) repeated interference steals the focus. Frankly, Beijing should stop messing with other countries’ elections and hold their own,” Wu posted on social media platform X on Thursday.

Lai, who had once called himself a “pragmatic worker for Taiwan’s independence,” has taken a softer line on the issue on the campaign trail.

He has chosen instead to echo current President Tsai Ing-wen’s stance that Taiwan is “already independent” and therefore does not need to formally declare it.

China cut off high-level communications with Tsai’s government over her defense of the island’s sovereignty.

Lai said on Tuesday that “as long as there is parity and dignity, Taiwan’s door will always be open” to cooperation with China.

“But we cannot have illusions about peace. Accepting China’s ‘one-China’ principle is not true peace,” he said, referring to Beijing’s doctrine that Taiwan is a part of China.

Lai’s opponent Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang (KMT) — which has long encouraged closer cooperation with Beijing — has run on maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, saying that Lai would be a danger to China relations.

Hou rejected the DPP’s allegation that he was “pro-China and a sell-out of Taiwan.”

“Taiwan is a democratic and free country,” he told foreign media on Thursday, stressing that he did not have “unrealistic ideas” about China’s intentions.

“No matter what China thinks... what the mainstream public opinion in Taiwan wants us to do is to maintain the status quo,” Hou said, adding that the issue of “reunification” will not be on the table if he is elected.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a recent address that unifying Taiwan with China is an “inevitability.”

Beijing has stepped up military pressure on the island in recent years, sending warplanes and naval vessels on maneuvers around Taiwan.

Tsai has boosted defense spending during her two terms in office, buying more weapons from her top ally, the United States.

Hou said he will “not only increase our purchases... but also strengthen Taiwan-US military cooperation.”

“We are happy to see the United States playing a positive role in maintaining stability in the Taiwan Strait,” he said. “No matter what happens here, the United States will forever remain a staunch ally of ours.”