Politicians react to Lai's 'motherland' comment with praise and scorn

Taipei, Oct. 7 (CNA) Parties from across the political spectrum responded with praise and criticism to President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) comments on Saturday that it is "impossible" for the People's Republic of China (PRC) to be the "motherland" of the Republic of China (Taiwan, ROC) because the ROC was established before the PRC.

"Our nearest neighbor, the People's Republic of China, just celebrated its 75th birthday on Oct. 1," Lai said at an event on Saturday in advance of the ROC's National Day on Oct. 10. "In a few days, the Republic of China will celebrate its 113th birthday."

"Therefore, in terms of age, it is absolutely impossible for the People's Republic of China to be the 'motherland' of the people of the Republic of China."

Lai's comments at the Taipei Dome event came ahead of the 113th National Day of the ROC (Taiwan) on Thursday and were directed at refuting Beijing's claims to Taiwan.

"We are a sovereign country," Lai added.

According to the PRC's national constitution, "Taiwan is part of the sacred territory of the People's Republic of China" and "it is the sacred duty of all the Chinese people, including our fellow Chinese in Taiwan, to achieve the great reunification of the motherland."

Despite repeatedly claiming that Taiwan has been a part of China "since ancient times," the PRC has never ruled Taiwan.

Lai's comments elicited mixed reactions from politicians and commentators across the political spectrum while garnering international media attention in outlets including the U.K.-based Guardian newspaper and Reuters news agency.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said "President Lai's speech clarified the pragmatic status of cross-strait relations with clear and simple logic, fully complied with the Constitution of the Republic of China (Taiwan), accurately mentioned the people of the Republic of China, and emphasized that the Republic of China has continued to exist since 1911."

"It not only refutes China's so-called 'one China,' 'motherland' and other United Front rhetoric, but also exposes the distorted positions of many cross-strait politicians who are confused by [the concept of] 'motherland'," the statement said.

DPP lawmaker Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) also defended his party leader's remarks on Sunday, saying that Lai's comments were "carefully planned in advance" and intended to "dismantle [the PRC's] propaganda rhetoric."

"Just pointing out this fact [that the 113-year-old ROC is older than the 75-year-old PRC] made many people jump, but did he misspeak? No, this is the most paradoxical and ingenious part," Lin said on Facebook.

"What the president is fighting for is in fact the right to speak about cross-strait relations and Taiwan's sovereignty on the world stage," the DPP lawmaker added.

In a news release issued on Saturday, the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) said "the Kuomintang loves the Republic of China and calls on President Lai to regard all elements of the Republic of China as major symbols of the nation's spirit."

"Over the past 113 years, the Republic of China has gone through so much suffering" and "many martyrs have sacrificed their lives and blood" for the ROC flag, the KMT news release said, in order to "achieve the fruits of Taiwan's democracy and freedom today."

The main opposition party added that it "looks forward" to seeing President Lai "holding the national flag and singing the national anthem" at the national day celebrations on Thursday.

Taiwan People's Party (TPP) spokesperson Lin Tzu-yu (林子宇) said on Sunday that "after the Republic of China government took over Taiwan on behalf of the Allied Powers in 1945, the Republic of China in Taiwan has become a historical fact."

"Of course, the People's Republic of China cannot become the motherland of the people of the Republic of China, and of course the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China are two completely different political systems," the TPP spokesperson said.

"There is no need to argue about who is whose 'motherland'," he added.

Meanwhile, the director of the office of former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑), said on Sunday that Lai's comments "aroused widespread international doubts, caused instability in the Taiwan Strait and seriously violated the interests of the Taiwanese people," without elaborating.

Though the spokesperson for Ma's office did not directly respond to Lai's "motherland" statement, Hsiao said that the constitution of the ROC "clearly stipulates that both mainland China and Taiwan belong to China."

"If you want to treat the mainland as a foreign country, treat mainlanders as foreigners, and deny that you are Chinese, then President Lai please amend the constitution as soon as possible and stop using words to fool the Taiwanese people," the pro-unification office director said.

In a white paper published in 2022, Beijing said that "moves to separate Taiwan from China represent the serious crime of secession" and that the PRC "shall never allow the 'Taiwan independence' secessionist forces to make Taiwan secede from China under any name or by any means."

The Chinese word at the heart of this controversy, 祖國, is usually translated into English as "motherland" but can also be more literally translated as "the country of one's ancestors."