Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian's attempts to push for independence
through "constitutional reforms" cannot be tolerated, said Li
Weiyi, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State
Council, on Wednesday.
His comments came after Taiwanese media reported that Chen,
under huge pressure to resign, had raised the issue of a new
"constitution" on Sunday, involving the possibility of changing the
"territorial definitions" of Taiwan.
"We are paying close attention to 'constitutional reforms' in
Taiwan and are keeping careful watch over the situation," Li
said.
Li said such a move demonstrated that Chen had once again
abandoned his commitment to the "Four Nos" in pursuit of personal
interest. The so-called "Four Nos" are the commitments Chen made
when he became Taiwan leader. They comprise no declaration of
Taiwan independence, no incorporation of the "two states" remarks
into the constitution, no change of the province's name and no
referendum on "Taiwan Independence".
Li said Chen has also broken his commitments of not including
"territorial" and "sovereignty" changes into the "constitutional
reform", and therefore sending out a dangerous signal.
"It also demonstrated, once again, that Chen has never been
honest and lacks political credibility," Li said, adding that "we
have made great efforts to move cross-strait relations forward
peacefully and to safeguard the stability across the Taiwan
Strait."
He said that thanks to the efforts of compatriots across the
Taiwan Strait, positive elements which are conducive to curbing the
"Taiwan Independence" secessionist activities have increased and
the cross-strait relations have shown a stronger momentum of moving
towards peace and stability.
The spokesman said the mainland will continue to exert great
efforts to push relations towards peace and stability.
"Meanwhile, our position of opposing 'Taiwan Independence' will
never waver and we will never tolerate 'de jure independence'
through the so-called 'constitutional reform'," Li said.
Li also said at the press conference the mainland hopes
round-trip cross-Strait charter flight services will be extended
beyond festivals periods.
"Regular direct cross-Strait flights serve the fundamental
interests of compatriots across the Taiwan Strait," Li said.
He said the cross-Strait charter flights for the Mid-Autumn
Festival will last from September 29 to October 13. Similar charter
flights have been arranged for other festival weeks during the
year, a program started during the 2006 Spring Festival.
The 24 round-trip, cross-Straits charter flights that begin
later this week will provide service from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xiamen to Taipei.
In the meantime, Li said the mainland has again urged Taiwan
authorities to respond to its proposal to begin consultations on
mainlanders' visits to the island.
"We can begin consultations on mainlanders' visits to Taiwan as
soon as a suitable non-governmental tourist organization has been
set up on Taiwan Island," Li said.
Negotiations could be held on the mainland, in Taiwan, in Hong
Kong or Macao, Li said, adding that any negotiation method that
helps promote mainlanders' visits to the island is acceptable.
According to Li, the mainland has fully prepared for mainland
citizens' visits to Taiwan.
Shao Qiwei, head of the China Tourist Association, led a study
group to Taiwan from October 28 to November 6, 2005, paving the way
for the opening of tourist routes to the island.
The government subsequently published regulations on mainland
residents' travel to Taiwan on April 16 this year.
At the first executive meeting of the cross-Strait tourist
exchange association held on August 17 this year, it was announced
that preparations for promoting mutual tourist exchanges across the
Taiwan Strait had been completed. The government sanctioned
mainland residents' visits to Taiwan in May 2005.
Showcasing that relations between the mainland and Taiwan
otherwise remain stable are the two major agricultural forums
scheduled to take place in October.
The Cross-Strait Agricultural Cooperation Forum, to be held on
October 17 and 18 in Bo'ao, Hainan Province, will host around 400
delegates from Taiwan and the mainland.
"An exhibition on cross-Strait agricultural cooperation will be
held in Xiamen, Fujian Province on Oct. 19 and 20," said Li,
adding nearly 700 agricultural enterprises from Taiwan and the
mainland had signed up, making it the largest cross-Strait forum in
history. Taiwan delegates would be invited to inspect pilot
agricultural projects in mainland cities, thus showcasing the
complementary nature of agriculture in Taiwan and the mainland.
(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2006)