BEIJING, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The current administration of Taiwan, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), should bear full responsibility for the island's absence from the World Health Assembly (WHA) this year, a spokesperson from the Chinese mainland said Monday.
"The DPP administration refuses to recognize the 1992 Consensus, which embodies the one-China principle. This created an obstacle for Taiwan's participation in the WHA," said An Fengshan, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.
An urged the DPP administration to reflect on the reasons why Taiwan will be absent from this year's WHA, saying any attempt to pass the buck or shift the focus will not succeed.
Taiwan had been participating in the WHA since 2009 as an observer as "Chinese Taipei."
This special arrangement was made through cross-Strait consultations against the backdrop of peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and on the political foundation that both sides of the Taiwan Strait adhere to the 1992 Consensus, An said.
The DPP administration, however, has not recognized the 1992 Consensus and its core connotation that both sides belong to the same China, damaging the political foundation for cross-Strait relations and leading to the suspension of cross-Strait communication mechanisms, he added.
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