BEIJING, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- With an internal impetus and deepening foundation following the reopening of exchanges between both sides of the Taiwan Strait more than three decades ago, cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation in various fields have become an irreversible historical trend, a mainland spokesperson said Wednesday.

The trend cannot be shaken by immediate difficulties or obstacles, Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson with the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, told a press conference, the first by the office since the COVID-19 outbreak.

The epidemic did impact cross-Strait exchanges, including people-to-people exchanges, and at the same time, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority intensified their attempts to hinder exchanges between Taiwan and the mainland, he said.

"They unreasonably obstructed the return of Taiwan compatriots and their relatives stranded in the mainland to the island," he said. "Even now the entry of mainland people into Taiwan is completely prohibited."

The DPP authority kept intimidating Taiwan residents and civil organizations for their participation in normal cross-Strait exchanges, Ma said.

Exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are the common aspirations of compatriots on both sides that conform to their common interests, and no individual or force can stop it, the spokesperson said.

In the first two months of the year, when the epidemic was at its most critical stage, more than 100,000 Taiwan compatriots came to the mainland, Ma said.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, people on both sides of the Strait have overcome temporary difficulties and successfully held online and offline exchanges in the fields of economy, culture, health, education, youth, and folk culture, among others, thereby sustaining the momentum of cross-Strait exchanges, he added. Enditem

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