Secessionist antics should not be condoned

Multiple senior members of the ruling Lai Ching-te authorities of Taiwan island have engaged in a series of overseas "visits" recently, indicating that the secessionist-minded Democratic Progressive Party authorities are trying to take advantage of the power transition in Washington to make a splash in the world for their push for "Taiwan independence".

The DPP authorities' "foreign affairs chief" Lin Chia-lung paid a weeklong visit to Brussels to meet European Union lawmakers and to offer Taiwan's drone tech to Lithuania; former Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen paid a trip to Canada to accept a so-called democracy leadership award; and Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te is paying ongoing "visits" to three Pacific "diplomatic allies" — during which he is reportedly to have a "technical stop" in or "transit through" the United States, where talks will be the real purpose of his detour.

The three "visits" are characteristic of the Lai authorities in their pursuit of "Taiwan independence" — exploit the island's technology and economy to advantage for their narrow political ends, mount the moral high ground of "democracy" to make the island part of the West's "value alliance", and always curry their foreign patrons' support.