Mainland firmly opposes Lai Ching-te's U.S. "stopover": spokesperson

BEIJING, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Sunday voiced firm opposition to Lai Ching-te's U.S. "stopover."

It is reported that the leader of China's Taiwan region Lai Ching-te has begun his trip to so-called "diplomatic allies" in the Pacific, and he has arrived in Hawaii for a "stopover."

In response, Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said that the Chinese mainland firmly opposes any form of official interaction between the United States and the Taiwan region.

He expressed firm opposition to any trip by the leader of the Taiwan authorities to the United States in any name or under whatever pretext.

No matter what tactics Lai Ching-te and Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities use to advance their "Taiwan independence" agenda, they will not shake the firm international commitment to the one-China principle nor stop the overriding historical trend toward China's reunification, Chen said.

We urge the United States to fully abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, fully see the separatist nature and harm of Lai Ching-te and Taiwan's DPP authorities, and exercise extreme caution in handling matters related to Taiwan, Chen said.