Taiwan accused of pushing separatist agenda

The mainland Taiwan affairs authority on Thursday strongly condemned Taiwan authorities for exploiting the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak to promote secessionist ambitions as the island seeks membership in the World Health Organization.

As the country battles the outbreak, the Democratic Progressive Party, the ruling party of Taiwan, is looking to join the WHO, claiming that they have received very limited information because of its exclusion from the organization.

The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said in a statement on Thursday that since the outbreak, the mainland has informed Taiwan of the latest information on the prevention and control of the epidemic on many occasions.

The mainland also arranged for experts from Taiwan to visit Wuhan, Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak, last month.

The DPP authority was telling a lie, and ignoring the goodwill and sincerity of the mainland, which revealed their sinister intentions to fool the people and seek political gains, the office said.

The WHO said on Sunday that Taiwan has been getting all the information it needs.

As a part of China, the island is not eligible to join the WHO, which limits membership to sovereign countries.

The mainland has arranged for Taiwan to obtain information on public health events. There are no barriers to technical cooperation between Taiwan and the WHO, the Taiwan affairs office said.

The island also has an account with access to the WHO event information website, on which it can obtain timely information on global public health emergencies, according to the office.

The mainland will continue to make arrangements for Taiwan to obtain information on the epidemic prevention, but will never allow any form of "Taiwan independence", the office said.

It urged the DPP to stop its political manipulation, saying that "exploiting the outbreak to promote 'independence' is doomed to fail".

About 247 Taiwan residents took a charter flight back to Taiwan on Monday from Wuhan, and more arrangements will be made for other Taiwan residents in Hubei who want to return to the island, according to the office.

Among Taiwan residents on the mainland, three were confirmed to be infected with the novel coronavirus and two were suspected of being infected as of Wednesday, the office said.

All have received timely medical treatment on the mainland, said Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the office, adding that the mainland will treat Taiwan residents equally.

For Taiwan residents returning from the island to the mainland to work and study after the Spring Festival holiday, efforts will be made to strengthen prevention and control of the epidemic, he said.

Services will be provided to Taiwan-funded enterprises on the mainland that resume production to ensure orderly production and business operations, he added.

The spokesman called on island authorities to properly handle the return to the island of mainland students who study in Taiwan and ensure their health and education rights.