BEIJING - A mainland spokesperson on Friday rebuked Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority for putting political interests above people's lives and health by refusing COVID-19 vaccines from the mainland.

It is a common consensus among Taiwan compatriots that only by receiving safe, efficient and sufficient vaccines from the mainland can the raging COVID-19 infections in Taiwan be effectively curbed, said Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

The island is going through a new spike in cases, which will cause more severe damage to people's lives, said Ma, adding that the DPP authority is obliged to respond whether they put confrontational tricks with the mainland first or prompt building of immune barrier for the local people in Taiwan.

Since the surge in COVID-19 cases on the island, the mainland has repeatedly expressed its willingness to help Taiwan compatriots fight the pandemic by offering them the WHO-endorsed mainland vaccines, Ma said.

However, even after almost a fortnight, the DPP is still impeding the mainland's vaccine offer with various false pretexts, resulting in soaring infections and deaths related to the COVID-19 pandemic on the island, Ma added.