Beijing strongly condemned on Thursday remarks by Taiwan's regional leader Lai Ching-te and warned that "Taiwan independence" forces' separatist activities remain the root cause of destabilizing the Taiwan Strait.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian made the remarks at a regular news briefing in response to a media query about Lai's recent interview.

Lin said Lai's comments once again exposed his nature as a staunch "Taiwan independence" advocate, proving that he?is nothing less than a "destroyer of peace", a "maker of crises", and an "instigator?of?war".

The spokesman stressed that such rhetoric fully demonstrates that "Taiwan independence" is the source of instability across the Taiwan Strait.

"No matter what Lai Ching-te says or does, he cannot change the historical and legal fact that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory," Lin said.

He added that Lai's remarks cannot shake the basic pattern of the international community's adherence to the one-China principle, nor can they stop the historical trend that China will and must achieve national reunification.

Attempts to seek "Taiwan independence" by relying on external forces or to resist reunification through military buildup are like an ant trying to shake a mighty tree — ultimately doomed to fail, Lin said.