In this Jan 17, 2018 photo, Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of State Council, holds a press conference in Beijing. (CHEN YUHUA / XINHUA)

BEIJING - A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Thursday slammed the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority in Taiwan for using non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to attack the mainland, calling such moves "despicable."

Ma said the DPP authority has long been taking advantage of NGOs to maliciously attack the mainland under the pretext of "democracy and freedom," wantonly undermining cross-Straits relations

Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the comments in response to an inquiry about the DPP leader's recent video speech during a video conference hosted by US think tanks.

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Ma said the DPP authority has long been taking advantage of NGOs to maliciously attack the mainland under the pretext of "democracy and freedom," wantonly undermining cross-Straits relations, and creating hostility and hatred among compatriots across the Straits.

"We firmly oppose any form of official relations between China's Taiwan region and countries that have diplomatic relations with us," Ma said, calling the DPP authority's despicable moves only expose its attempts to act as a pawn of Western anti-China forces and jeopardize the interests of compatriots across the Straits.  

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