1st LD-Writethru: Taiwan people increasingly recognize that U.S. is harming Taiwan: mainland spokesperson

BEIJING, April 30 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Wednesday said the people of Taiwan were becoming increasingly aware of the harm inflicted by the United States and that the island is being led to ruin by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities.

Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made the remarks at a press conference while commenting on a recent poll by the U.S. think tank Brookings Institution, which found that the proportion of people in Taiwan who view the United States as "untrustworthy" or "highly untrustworthy" has increased by 13.9 percentage points compared to the previous survey.

The people in Taiwan have come to realize that the United States always prioritizes "America First" and cares only about its own interests, Zhu said, adding that in the eyes of Americans, Taiwan's true value lies in being a "cash machine" and a tool to contain the mainland.

If Taiwan continues to give in to the United States' every demand, it will inevitably go from being a "pawn" to being discarded once its value has been exhausted, she said.

The DPP authorities have recently been fomenting pressure on Taiwan businesses to accelerate their withdrawal from the mainland.

Condemning these actions by the DPP authorities, Zhu said that they are driven by a separatist agenda, and are accustomed to spreading rumors, smearing the mainland and disrupting cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation.

She added that the mainland has always been the best choice for Taiwan businesses and investors.

In the first quarter of this year, cross-Strait trade reached 70.56 billion U.S. dollars, up 15.2 percent year on year, she noted, adding that the mainland's actual use of Taiwan investment totaled 1.26 billion U.S. dollars, a 127.1 percent increase from the same period last year, with 1,592 new Taiwan-invested enterprises established on the mainland.

"An increasing number of Taiwan businesses and compatriots are demonstrating through their actions that the mainland remains the top destination for investment and business development," Zhu said. Enditem