A Chinese mainland spokeswoman has denounced claims of "infiltration" leveled by Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authorities, describing their utterances as misleading and malicious.
Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said the DPP has sought to sever historical and cultural ties across the Taiwan Strait, misleading and deceiving the people of Taiwan.
Her remarks come amid recent antagonistic pronouncements on the island over the everyday use of mainland expressions, fueled by the DPP's claims of so-called "cultural infiltration".
DPP secretary-general Hsu Kuo-yung said on Sunday that the daily use of mainland expressions, though subtle, could cumulatively amount to "cultural infiltration", and added it was necessary to uphold the "uniqueness and subjectivity of Taiwan".
Recently, a dessert shop in Kee-lung, Taiwan, faced online harassment for using the mainland term for green grapes in the name of one of its menu items.
Zhu described such incidents as irrational and pathological, attributing the root cause to the DPP authorities' attempts to eliminate Chinese cultural elements on the island in line with their separatist agenda.
According to Zhu, the DPP has forcefully promoted "Taiwan independence" curricula and textbooks while portraying ordinary use of mainland expressions by Taiwan residents as "cultural infiltration".
"These actions are both malicious in intent and absurdly ridiculous," she said.
Zhu emphasized that Chinese culture is shared by all compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, including speaking Chinese, writing Chinese characters, and celebrating traditional Chinese festivals.
"The DPP authorities, by promoting a 'Taiwan independence' version of history, seek to sever ties with Chinese culture and smear normal and natural cross-Strait cultural exchanges," she said, adding that in doing so, they have betrayed their roots and failed to win public support.
Zhu also condemned a recent report issued by the island's "security department", which accused the mainland of using technology for the purpose of "infiltration".
The report alleged that the mainland has utilized artificial intelligence technology to generate highly realistic disinformation and employed big data analysis to precisely disseminate it, attempting to mislead the perceptions of Taiwan residents.
She said the report distorts facts and smears the mainland, aiming to mislead the public and stir up "anti-China" sentiment. It is also used to divert public dissatisfaction with the DPP authorities' governance and serve their political self-interest. Referring to cases exposed in Taiwan, Zhu described the DPP as "habitual perpetrators of cognitive warfare".
The DPP has been intensifying measures to counter so-called mainland "infiltration", including amendments to the "anti-infiltration act". Taiwan's "mainland affairs council" urged lawmakers to revise what it called overly lenient penalties under the current law. The act, enacted in 2020, has drawn criticism from opposition parties from the start.
Zhu described the legislation as a "malicious law" and a political tool used by the DPP authorities to suppress opponents and intimidate the people of Taiwan to serve their separatist agenda.
"They increasingly restrict cross-Strait exchanges, escalate confrontation, and undermine freedom of speech and personal rights of Taiwan residents," she added.
