DPP slammed for obstructing mainland delegation's Taiwan mourning trip

BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Wednesday slammed Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities for deliberately obstructing a Chinese mainland delegation from going to the island to mourn Master Hsing Yun.

This is the only reason the mainland delegation failed to travel to Taiwan, said Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

Master Hsing Yun, the founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order in Taiwan, died on Feb. 5. The Chinese mainland delegation had planned a trip to the island with the assistance of Fo Guang Shan through regular channels, which was unwarrantedly blocked by Taiwan's mainland affairs authority.

The delegation later paid tribute to Master Hsing Yun in Jiangsu Province on Feb. 12. The master was born and became a monk there.

The spokesperson also denounced a "Taiwan independence" media outlet on the island for concocting rumors concerning the mainland delegation.

The farce, played together by the DPP authorities and the media outlet, is utter "intentional political manipulation," which has exposed the real purpose of the DPP authorities' act, Zhu said.