Mainland has been sharing COVID-19 info with Taiwan all along: spokesperson

BEIJING -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Tuesday said the mainland has been sharing the coronavirus outbreak information with Taiwan all along, dismissing the "covering-up" slander drummed up by certain Democratic Progressive Party officials.

The mainland has sent Taiwan 101 notifications as of Tuesday including the information about its sharing of virus genome sequences with the World Health Organization, said Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, adding that the mainland has acted in a highly responsible manner for the sake of the health and well-being of the people in Taiwan, but the DPP had not told the truth.

Zhu asked the DPP officials to immediately stop spreading "political virus," saying that the use of the epidemic to stir up cross-Straits confrontations at a time when the outbreak in Taiwan is picking up is shameless and disgusting.

Zhu slammed the so-called "Taiwan-US joint statement" on a partnership to fight COVID-19, saying it has once again exposed the DPP's attempt to seek independence.

Zhu said China supports efforts of the international community to strengthen cooperation in fighting COVID-19, but firmly opposes any tricks of seeking "Taiwan independence" or "playing the Taiwan card."

"We firmly oppose any form of official exchanges between Taiwan and the United States," Zhu said.