A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Wednesday blasted the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities in Taiwan for fermenting anti-mainland sentiment and hatred after it banned a children's book from the mainland about the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic.
Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said the DPP authorities and some politicians in Taiwan have been obsessive about politicizing and stigmatizing all mainland-related affairs, caring only about the political stance rather than truth and righteousness.
"What are they fearing? They fear that compatriots on the two sides of the Strait will get closer and more affectionate, that the people in Taiwan will come to know the reality in the mainland, and that their carefully-woven lies will be stripped away," Zhu said.
The 20-page picture book tells a story from the perspective of a child whose father is a doctor working on the frontline to fight the virus when Wuhan was seriously hit by the COVID-19 epidemic, conveying the ideas of commitment, mutual support, love, and hope.
However, the DPP authorities have ordered banning the book on the island, citing the violation of "rules for cross-Strait relations."
"Some people on the island, because of their hidden agenda, are using the book to hype their schemes. Isn't it deplorable?" Zhu said.
The spokesperson also criticized the DPP authorities' recent moves to accuse some internet celebrities in Taiwan of producing videos that depicted some of their experiences on the mainland, such as going to see a doctor.
She said such acts by the DPP authorities and some politicians to use public power to suppress Taiwan compatriots from telling their own stories on the mainland, incite hostility and confrontation, and fool the people in Taiwan, are "ridiculous and absurd."
