BEIJING, April 17 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson Friday denounced the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority in Taiwan for taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to seek independence.

The DPP authority claimed that the island's epidemic prevention department had warned the World Health Organization (WHO) about the people-to-people transmission of the virus, said Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, calling such a claim "totally opposed to facts."

"Since the outbreak of COVID-19, we have provided timely information to the WHO and relevant countries and regions," Zhu said.

It is a clear fact that the mainland published the relevant information first, Zhu said, noting that the only source of the messages sent by Taiwan is the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission, and Taiwan's health authorities just cited the mainland's information.

She stressed that it is a lie to claim that Taiwan reported the information first, adding that the message sent by Taiwan did not mention "people-to-people transmission."

The DPP authority's motive was to politicalize the issue, Zhu said.

Some foreign politicians followed the hype to defame the mainland and the WHO, exposing their ulterior motives, she said.

Health authorities in Taiwan can obtain information released by the WHO as well as directly update information to the organization, according to Zhu.

The DPP authority kept shying away from those facts, only to expose its political purpose to seek independence by taking advantage of the epidemic, Zhu said.

Taiwan is a part of China, and must follow the one-China principle while participating in international affairs, she added.