Mainland to take necessary measures against Taiwan independence

BEIJING—The Chinese mainland on Wednesday warned it would take “necessary measures” if “Taiwan independence” forces continued to push their activities.
If “Taiwan independence” forces clung to their course, the mainland “will definitely take necessary measures to safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity and protect our nation’s core interests”, said Yang Yi, spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council. The priority is to prevent the Taiwan authorities, headed by Chen Shui-bian, from promoting a “referendum” on Taiwan’s bid to enter into the United Nations, and fight secessionist actions for “de jure independence”, Yang said.
“We will never compromise on the issue of secession and never accept ‘Taiwan independence’,” he said at a press conference. Yang also expressed strong opposition to Taiwan’s development of nuclear weapons, in response to a journalist’s question on Chen Shui-bian’s remark that Taiwan would not develop nuclear weapons, but needed to improve its defense capability.
“We have noticed the reports,” Yang said. “We are uncompromisingly against Taiwan’s development of nuclear weapons or nuclear weapon capability in any form.” The report to the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) by Hu Jintao set the tone for the mainland’s policies on Taiwan, Yang said.
“We will never waver in our commitment to the one-China principle, never abandon our efforts to achieve peaceful reunification, never change the policy of placing our hopes on the people of Taiwan and never compromise in our opposition to the secessionist activities aimed at ‘Taiwan independence’,” he quoted Hu’s report as saying. In his report, Hu for the first time talked about a peace agreement across the Taiwan Strait, calling for discussion of a formal end to the state of hostility between the two sides on the basis of the one-China principle.
The mainland is willing to talk with any political party in Taiwan that agrees that both sides of the Strait belong to one and the same China, Yang said. The mainland will also continue working on issues concerning the interests of Taiwan compatriots, including promoting trade, charter flights and tourism across the Strait, he said. The Chinese mainland expressed strong opposition to Taiwan’s development of nuclear weapons in any form, a mainland spokesman said here Wednesday.
Yang Yi, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the comment at a press conference in response to a journalist question on Chen Shui-bian’s related remark that Taiwan will not develop nuclear weapons but needs to improve its defense capability. “We have noticed the related reports,” Yang said. “We are uncompromisingly against Taiwan’s development of nuclear weapons or nuclear weapon capability in any form,” he said.
The Chinese mainland hopes to resume talks across the Taiwan Straits based on the 1992 Consensus highlighting the one-China principle, said a mainland official here Wednesday. “We haven’t changed our stance to stick to the 1992 Consensus, say no to ‘Taiwan independence,’ seek stability and peaceful development across the Straits and protect the interests of people on both sides,” said Yang Yi, the spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.
He made the remarks when answering a question about whether the mainland will try and reestablish the mechanism between the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), or find a new channel to work for a peace agreement across the Straits.
The 1992 Consensus was reached at a meeting between the ARATS from the mainland and SEF from Taiwan in 1992, in which both sides recognized that there is only one China in the world but agreed to differ on its explanation.
Chinese President Hu Jintao in his keynote speech to the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) called for discussions across the Taiwan Streets for a formal end to the state of hostility and reaching a peace agreement on the basis of the one-China principle.—Xinhua