BEIJING, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- The decision to suspend tariff reductions on some products under a cross-Strait economic pact is justified, lawful, well-founded and restrained, said a Chinese mainland spokesperson on Wednesday, noting that this decision is a normal economic behavior.
Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities desire the benefits brought by the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) on the one hand but violate ECFA and WTO rules on the other, which has compelled mainland authorities to suspend tariff cuts on some products from Taiwan, said Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, at a press conference.
The DPP authorities' repeated double-dealing will only make people across the Taiwan Strait more aware of their selfishness, insincerity in improving cross-Strait relations, and their lack of intention or capability to address concerns involving the immediate interests of the people in Taiwan, the spokesperson said.
All issues concerning the ECFA can be properly resolved through negotiations on the basis of the 1992 Consensus, the spokesperson said.
The DPP authorities' stubborn adherence to "Taiwan independence," their rejection of the 1992 Consensus, and their attempts to undermine the political foundation of cross-Strait negotiations are the root causes why ECFA-related issues cannot be resolved, Chen said.
If the DPP authorities continue to stick to their "Taiwan independence" stance, "we support relevant departments to take further measures as per regulations," the spokesperson added.
In response to queries about the resumption of the import of groupers from Taiwan, the spokesperson said the decision was made after a comprehensive assessment of rectifications by Taiwan's grouper farmers and based on the conviction that people across the Strait all belong to the same family.
He added that as long as the 1992 Consensus is adhered to and "Taiwan independence" is opposed, the mainland is willing to work together with authorities on the island to continue providing assistance in resuming the import of Taiwan's agricultural and aquatic products into the mainland on the premise that the products comply with the relevant mainland quarantine regulations. ■
