DPP authorities will be held accountable for each and every secessionist move: China Daily editorial

Beijing has improved and consolidated its institutional and practical mechanisms to prepare for the island's reunification with the motherland, whether peacefully or by force, in response to the provocations of the Democratic Progressive Party authorities on the island and the collusion of "pro-independence" forces with external actors.

And it will certainly not waste any chance to take concrete actions to facilitate cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation to not only counter the Lai Ching-te authorities' de-sinicization endeavors but also bring tangible benefits to Taiwan compatriots.

Although the Lai authorities think they grasp the initiative in the cross-Strait situation with their continual provocations, which they consider to be adroit maneuvers, each time their provocations only reinforce the fact that they are caught on the horns of a self-made dilemma. With the improvement of its comprehensive strengths, it is the Chinese mainland that has firmly gripped the initiative on the Taiwan question, with remarkable progress being continually made in almost all fields related to the island's return to its motherland, including law, policy, economy, infrastructure and the military.

In its latest move, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council launched a platform on Wednesday through which the Taiwan compatriots can report the secessionists and their bad behaviors to the authorities of the mainland in response to the Lai authorities' attempts to purge mainland elements and influence on the island. Based on evidence collected on the platform, along with other sources, the mainland will hold the diehard separatists accountable in accordance with the law, Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office, said at a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

In the news conference, Chen also responded to a host of questions regarding the latest developments with regard to the cross-Strait situation. The broad spectrum of the questions, ranging from Lai's foreign patrons to cross-Strait collaboration, should leave no party in any doubt that the mainland is steadily advancing its pre-set agenda on national reunification step by step with full confidence.

Compared with the composure and restraint the mainland exercises, the haste with which the Lai authorities have made their reckless moves earlier this month only serves to expose their burning anxiety that they will be abandoned by the United States after the change of occupant in the White House.

By trying to overstep Beijing's red line in claiming the island to be "a sovereign democratic country" and the mainland "hostile foreign forces" in his speech on March 13, Lai is trying to put pressure on the Donald Trump administration to continue with the collusion and patronage that the DPP authorities had grown accustomed to under the previous Joe Biden administration.

By doing so, the Lai authorities have only exposed themselves to the administration's extortionist demands in exchange. The US administration has recently pressed Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company to increase its investment in the US from the $100 billion it promised to at least $200 billion. But the total assets of the island's largest semiconductor manufacturer was $204.22 billion as of the fourth quarter last year.

In a telling sign of their willingness to be a US proxy, the Lai authorities said they are "happy" to see the TSMC deal, which would actually realize TSMC's "Americanization". "Selling" the island's leading company to the US in exchange for the latter's protection in case of "emergency" reinforces the fact that the DPP authorities only care about their own narrow ends, not the welfare of Taiwan compatriots.

Further evidence of that is the DPP authorities trying to build "non-Red" supply chains to try and decouple the island from its motherland in economy and trade, which effectively prevents Taiwan businesses from benefiting from the highly complementary economies of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. These moves will deal a heavy blow to the island's economy. Take the tourism industry as an example. After the DPP authorities blocked tourism exchanges across the strait several years ago, Taiwan's tourism deficit has continued to rise, hitting about NT$692.2 billion ($20.92 billion) last year.

The DPP authorities' endeavors to try and sever the cross-Strait ties and sell its interests to their foreign patrons will only serve to expedite their own fall.