It is "impossible" for the People's Republic of China to become Taiwan's motherland because Taiwan has older political roots, the island's President Lai Ching-te said on Saturday.

Taiwan president says ‘impossible’ for mainland China to be the motherland - President says Republic of China has older historical roots than communist People’s Republic of China

President William Lai of Taiwan stated that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) cannot be considered the “Motherland” of the people of Taiwan. Lai made this remark during a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei on Friday,

Lai, who took office in May, is condemned by Beijing as a "separatist". He rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying that the island is a country called the Republic of China, which traces its origins back to the 1911 revolution that overthrew the last imperial dynasty.