China slams Taiwan leader over 'country' speech: state media

BEIJING: China on Monday slammed Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te over a speech in which he said the island was "clearly a country", saying his "fallacies" would be "swept into the dustbin of history", state media reported.

Lai, a staunch defender of Taiwan's sovereignty and detested by Beijing, said in a speech on Sunday that "Taiwan is clearly a country," as he kicked off a tour aimed at "uniting" the self-ruled island.

He also said China had distorted the definition of the UN general assembly resolution 2758 to claim that Taiwan is not a sovereign state.


Beijing insists democratic, self-ruled Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring the island under its control.

"Lai Ching-te's speech on June 22 was rife with lies and deception, hostility and provocation," Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for Beijing's Taiwan affairs fffice, said on Monday, according to state broadcaster cctv.

Lai's "various fallacies which distort history, reality, and legal principles, will ultimately be swept into the dustbin of history", Chen said.

He added that Lai's speech was "a hodgepodge of flawed and deceitful" ideas.

China has ramped up the deployment of fighter jets and naval vessels around Taiwan in recent years to press its claim of sovereignty, which Taipei rejects.

Lai's speech was the first of 10 he will make on a tour of Taiwan aimed at "uniting the country" ahead of public votes in July on whether to recall 24 opposition lawmakers.