Taiwan's participation in regional economic cooperation must be based on one-China principle: Taiwan Affairs Office

Taiwan Affairs Office of State Council re-stressed that Taiwan's participation in regional economic cooperation must be based on the one-China principle, in response to the island's latest move of submitting application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

We oppose Taiwan's participation in any free trade arrangement or signing any free trade agreement with an official nature, the Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

"There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. Taiwan's participation in regional economic cooperation must be based on the one-China principle," Zhu said.

The island of Taiwan submitted its CPTPP bid on September 22, less than a week after the Chinese mainland announced its decision of join the CPTPP.

When asked about the possibility that Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority may lift restrictions on food imports from Japan's nuclear-stricken Fukushima Prefecture in order to obtain support for its application to join the CPTPP, Zhu slammed DPP's selfish political manipulation.

"We have also noticed that the majority of Taiwan people are unwilling to accept imports of potentially problematic agricultural and livestock products at the expense of their health. The DPP authority has repeatedly sold out the health interests of the Taiwan people for their own political gain, and will surely further lose their support."