Zambian Vice President Lupando Mwapeon Tuesday reassured Zambian
resident Chinese of his country's full support for the peaceful
reunification of China.
Mwape said Zambia believed that the major economic success China
had achieved during the past two decades would be further
strengthened under a reunited China.
The vice president made the remarks in a speech read on his
behalf by his deputy minister, Catherine Namugala, during the
launch of the Zambia Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National
Reunification of China (ZCPPNRC).
The founding of the ZCPPNRC added a new member to the expanding
group of reunification promotion councils in nearly 30 African
countries which comprise tens of thousands of peace-loving
Chinese.
Mwape said Zambia valued peace and would like to see a peaceful
global community, hence the importance of the reunification of
China in a "peaceful manner."
"China needs peace, Zambia needs peace, and the world, too,
needs peace," the vice president concluded.
Hundreds of Chinese working or living in Zambia gathered in
Lusaka on Tuesday to voice their demands for the peaceful
reunification of China.
Officially inaugurating the ZCPPNRC, a non-governmental
organization initiated by Chinese in Zambia, ZCPPNRC President
Roger Lee said Taiwan had been part of China from ancient times and
that the people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits were from the
same roots.
However, the Taiwan authorities under Chen Shui-bien had been
hysterically pushing for the secession of the island from China, a
move condemned by both the Chinese government and the international
community, Lee said.
In February, Chen announced ceasing of both the function of the
National Unification Council and the application of the National
Unification Guidelines, in total disregard of the strong opposition
of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits.
The move, Lee said, not only jeopardized the peace and stability
of the Asia-Pacific region but also rejected the aspirations of all
Chinese, both at home and abroad who seek the reunification of
China.
"It is therefore the duty of us, the Chinese in Zambia, to
establish this council in Zambia and join the other councils around
the world to carry out and support the one-China principle in line
with the policy of the Chinese government," Lee said.
"Taiwan being part of China is an irreversible and undeniable
fact," he stressed.
Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Li Baodong hailed the inauguration
of the ZCPPNRC.
"The Chinese government stands ready to seek a peaceful
settlement of the Taiwan issue with maximum sincerity and greatest
efforts, but it will never tolerate any separatist activities of
Taiwan independence by any means," said the Chinese ambassador.
Li said the founding of the ZCPPNRC fully demonstrated that the
realization of national reunification was the common desire of the
Chinese people all over the world, including the Taiwanese
compatriots.
(Xinhua News Agency June 7, 2006)
