China mulls reprisals over Lai speech

BEIJING (AFP) — China on Tuesday slammed the inauguration speech of new Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te as a “confession of Taiwan independence,” and warned it would take “countermeasures.”

In his speech Monday, Lai said a “glorious era of Taiwan’s democracy has arrived” and thanked citizens for “refusing to be swayed by external forces, for resolutely defending democracy.”

“Yesterday’s speech... can be described as a downright ‘confession of Taiwan independence’,” a statement from Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) released late Tuesday read.

It added that “(China) must take countermeasures and penalize the DPP authorities for colluding with external forces in their provocations for ‘independence’.”

The statement — attributed to TAO spokesperson Chen Binhua — did not specify what retaliatory measures from Beijing would entail.

Chinese warplanes and naval vessels maintain a near-daily presence around the island, but in recent days, there has not been a significant uptick in the numbers.

“I would like to emphasize that no matter what (Lai) says or how he says it, it will not change the status and fact that Taiwan is a part of China... The complete reunification of the motherland must be realized and can certainly be realized,” Chen’s statement added.