BEIJING, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- The Taiwan Affairs Office of China's Cabinet reacted strongly Tuesday to a speech made last weekend by the island's President Chen Shui-bian.
Xinhua quoted an unnamed spokesman from the office as saying Chen would "reap what he has sown" after speaking at an event Chinese state-run media termed "a meeting of a Taiwan independence organization."
Chen was accused of "obstinately sticking to Taiwan independence" as well as continuing to "advocate secessionism by restricting economic and other exchanges across the strait."
"He has even wantonly slandered the mainland to stir up confrontation and further impair relations across the strait," the spokesman added.
Last Saturday Chen attended the fourth anniversary of the Taiwan Solidarity Union, a political party founded by former Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui.
Chen and Lee are regularly criticized by the Chinese government as pursing independence for Taiwan, which the mainland considers a breakaway province. The two leaders, estranged over policy direction, have been mending political fences in preparation for elections scheduled for the end of the year.
