Premier Wen Jiabao on Sunday warned the separatist forces within the Taiwan authorities not to attempt to split the island from its motherland, saying the Chinese government will never tolerate such a move.  

"We understand the aspiration of people in Taiwan for democracy. However, the essence of the problem now is that the separatist forces within the Taiwan authorities attempt to use democracy only as a cover to split Taiwan away from China. This is what we will never tolerate," Wen told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York after meeting with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

"So long as there is a glimmer of hope, the Chinese government will not give up efforts for peaceful reunification and for the peaceful settlement of the issue," he stressed. "We believe this will serve the interest of both sides of the Taiwan Straits. This will also be conducive to peace and stability in Asia Pacific and the world at large."

The Chinese government has always adhered to the principle of "peaceful reunification, one country, two systems," believing that this is the most important principle for the settlement of the Taiwan issue, Wen said.

The Chinese premier added that he and Annan discussed, among other things, the nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), UN reforms, the relations between China and the world body, the global fight against poverty and AIDS and the economic development in Africa.

"We see completely eye to eye on these issues," Wen said, while promising to strengthen the cooperation between China and the United Nations.

On his part, Annan, standing beside Wen, reiterated the adherence to the one-China policy by the United Nations.

"We have the one-China policy, and also our support for the approach that all the differences will be settled politically and peacefully, without any resort to any violence. So we maintain the one-China policy and the need to resolve all issues peacefully," he said.

Annan expressed his thanks for China's economic and material support for the economic development of African countries.

Wen arrived here Sunday afternoon on a four-day official visit to the United States. After his stay in New York, the premier will travel on to Washington and Boston.

(Xinhua News Agency December 8, 2003)