With two months to go before Taiwan's "presidential" elections on March 20, Beijing has remained steadfast in its strategy to keep the island from drifting further towards independence.

While strongly warning against Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian's pro-independence push, senior government officials yesterday tried hard to attract Taiwanese investors with vast market and abundant business opportunities.

Li Weiyi, spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, told a regular press conference that the mainland has "firm determination and necessary preparation to crush splittist activities.''

"We... are fully confident to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the motherland," he said.

"We will not allow anybody to split Taiwan from China in any form."

The spokesman called Chen's proposed "defensive referendum" a great challenge to peace in cross-Straits relations.

Through such an island-wide election, Chen aims to pave the way for a future plebiscite on changing Taiwan's status to declare formal independence, Li said. The Taiwan leader has insisted on holding the referendum on election day despite blunt warning from both Beijing and Washington.

Despite harsh political rhetoric, mainland officials softened their tone when addressing economic issues at the press briefing.

Ren Airong, deputy director of the Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office under the Ministry of Agriculture, pledged to strengthen agricultural co-operation and open wider to Taiwanese investors and farm products.

She said the mainland "with its huge consumption market, plenty of plantation resources and a sound investment environment" can provide myriad opportunities for Taiwanese agricultural enterprises.

"Both sides of the Straits can model on the closer economic partnership arrangement between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao to facilitate bilateral agricultural trade," the official said.

She added that the mainland is ready to allow more imports of agricultural products from the island while offering convenient quarantine and logistics services.

(China Daily January 15, 2004)