BEIJING, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te, the self-proclaimed "pragmatic worker for Taiwan independence," seemingly can not wait to slam and lock the door of interactions between Chinese people on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Lai recently announced policies to investigate into Taiwan residents who hold mainland identity documents, expand the scope of scrutiny over Taiwan artists' remarks and behaviors, and establish a review system targeting cross-Strait exchanges in religion, culture and education. Meanwhile, he also planned to introduce so-called "strategic structural adjustments" to hinder cross-Strait economic and trade exchanges.
These reckless moves exposed the deep-seated fear and hostility that Lai and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities harbor toward cross-Strait exchanges.
Since 2016, the DPP authorities have repeatedly deprived Taiwan residents of their legitimate rights to engage in cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation, simply because they fear the growing rapport between people on the two sides of the Strait.
In less than a year since taking office, Lai has further escalated restrictions, imposing obstacles on cross-Strait travel, education exchanges and economic and trade cooperation. He also banned the use of mainland artificial intelligence model DeepSeek, obstructed Taiwan professionals from taking part in the mainland's technological and cultural development, and prohibited collaborations between Taiwan-based institutions and 10 mainland universities.
By undermining the positive momentum of cross-Strait exchanges built over years, the Lai authorities have thrown a boomerang that will ultimately hit Taiwan itself.
As Taiwan businesses face harsher scrutiny and restrictions from the DPP authorities, their development will be stifled, and the island's economy will eventually suffer.
Moreover, the aforementioned investigations that infringe upon personal rights will create an atmosphere of fear and insecurity in Taiwan society.
As pointed out by Taiwan media, Lai's 17 strategies to counter so-called threats from the mainland will put the island in a quasi-status of martial law, and push cross-Strait exchanges into severe regression.
Having witnessed the prosperity and development from 2008 to 2016, when cross-Strait exchanges, cooperation and development flourished, people in Taiwan have known for a long time that better cross-Strait relations mean a better Taiwan.
In 2024, more than 4.4 million trips were made across the Strait, marking a 53.8 percent year-on-year increase. Among them, over 4.02 million were made by Taiwan residents to the mainland, up by 54.3 percent from 2023. These figures underscore the undeniable mainstream public opinion in Taiwan -- the desire for peace, development, exchanges, and cooperation.
However intense the DPP-imposed restrictions are, they can not block the genuine goodwill and close ties between people on both sides of the Strait. Lai's desperate attempts to shut the doors of exchanges and cooperation are doomed to a shameful failure. ■
