BEIJING, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Mainland scholars have criticized a speech made by Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te on Tuesday, calling his latest remarks on so-called "unity" a political maneuver attempting at stigmatizing dissent and coercing the public opinion into supporting "Taiwan independence."

Lai's speech is nothing more than a rehash of the same old fallacies and baseless arguments used to advance his separatist agenda, said Zhu Songling, a Taiwan studies professor at Beijing Union University.

He added that by deliberately distorting and trampling on history, Lai is inciting hatred, deepening social rifts and fueling anti-mainland sentiment for political gains.

Experts pointed out that while Lai touts "unity" and "democracy," he avoided addressing a series of restrictive measures he imposed to hinder cross-Strait exchanges, including the continued ban on group travel to the mainland, strict restrictions on mainland personnel's visits to Taiwan for exchanges, and increased scrutiny of Taiwan residents holding mainland-issued documents.

"Lai's remarks serve a dual purpose: to continue peddling fallacious separatist rhetoric that misleads the public in Taiwan, and to further mobilize his political base in a bid to regain control of the legislature and consolidate long-term power for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)," said Chen Guiqing, a research fellow at the Beijing-based Institute of Taiwan Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

In his speech, Lai sparked widespread anger across the island by referring to the majority of Taiwan's population that does not support him as "impurities" and threatening to purge them. Zhu warned that this kind of language is a thinly veiled threat against the broader public.

According to experts, peace, development and cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation remain the mainstream aspirations of the Taiwan public, while the path of "Taiwan independence" leads nowhere. They emphasized that Taiwan's future lies in national reunification, and the well-being of Taiwan people hinges on national rejuvenation.

They called on compatriots in Taiwan to remain vigilant and see through the DPP authorities' hypocrisy and political manipulation, and urged them to stand together with compatriots on the mainland, firmly oppose separatist attempts and work hand in hand to achieve national reunification and rejuvenation. Enditem