The Foreign Ministry said yesterday that Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian's "perverse acts" have attracted strong criticism from people across the Taiwan Straits and the international community.

 

"The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council has issued a statement on this, which represents Chinese government's solemn and just stand," the ministry's spokesperson Liu Jianchao told yesterday's regular press conference.

 

Chen announced in Taipei on Monday afternoon his decision to put an end to the operation of the "National Unification Council" and application of the "National Unification Guidelines."

 

Chen's acts challenge the peace and endanger the ties between the island and the mainland, Liu warned.

 

Meanwhile, Liu urged the US to stick to its commitments on the Taiwan issue and to be aware of the seriousness and potential harmfulness of secessionist activities in Taiwan.

 

The US should make substantial effort to oppose "Taiwan independence" and not send any wrong signals to Taiwan secessionists, he said.?

 

US State Department deputy spokesperson Adam Ereli said on Monday that the US opposes any unilateral move to change the status quo across the Taiwan Straits and does not support "Taiwan independence."

 

Also on Monday, White House spokesperson Scott McClellan said at a briefing that the US' one-China policy "remains based on the Three Communiqués, the Taiwan Relations Act and our belief that there should be no unilateral change in the status quo by either side."

 

The "National Unification Council" was established in 1990 by the Taiwan authorities and 14 meetings have been held since then. However, none has been held since Chen became Taiwan's leader.

 

The "National Unification Guidelines" were issued in 1991. They provide that both the mainland and Taiwan are under the sovereignty of China and promoting the country's reunification should be the common task of all Chinese. The "guidelines" also outline a three-phase goal for the realization of China's reunification.

 

Concerning US President George W. Bush's forthcoming visit to Pakistan and India, Liu said China welcomes the US to play a "positive" role in promoting the improvement of India-Pakistan relations.

 

He said China welcomes the US to develop friendly ties with India and Pakistan, adding he hopes such bilateral relations would be "conducive to peace, stability and development of Asia."

 

Both India and Pakistan are China's important friendly neighbors, he noted. China is glad to see and satisfied with its relations with the two countries, which have seen continuous growth in recent years, he said.

 

"Meanwhile, we also noticed that India and Pakistan have been improving and developing their ties over the years," he said. Although some problems are yet to be solved between the two sides, China hopes they could maintain the momentum of improving bilateral ties and promote progress on divergent issues, he added.

 

Turning to the Korean nuclear issue, Liu said the timetable is not yet set for the six-party talks.

 

The first phase of the fifth-round six-party talks, held from November 9 to 11, was the last session. The talks involve China, the US, Russia, Japan, North and South Korea.

 

"The problem is that North Korea and the US lack enough mutual confidence and cannot agree on when to resume the talks," Liu said.

 

Moving on to the Iranian nuclear issue, Liu said China hopes Iran and other parties concerned will take positive action and demonstrate the necessary flexibility to create the conditions for its proper settlement.

 

Concerning the just-concluded working visit to Iran by Vice Foreign Minister Lü Guozeng, Liu said China and Iran held "in-depth" and "candid" discussions on the nuclear standoff.

 

During the visit, Lü met respectively with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran's Supreme Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani, and held political consultations with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mehdi Safari, Liu said.

 

Lü conveyed the message that China hopes the issue can be peacefully solved through negotiations within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

 

Iran said it is ready to do that, and is willing to maintain cooperation with the IAEA to seek a solution, Liu said.

 

China spoke positively of the progress of China-Iran relations since the two countries forged diplomatic ties 35 years ago, and vows to enhance bilateral cooperation in the political, economic and cultural fields, Liu said.

 

In another development, Liu said China hopes all relevant parties would achieve consensus on the latest draft resolution on the establishment of the UN Human Rights Council as early as possible.

 

He said China spoke positively of important efforts Jan Eliasson, president of the 60th UN General Assembly, has made in making the draft resolution. China will continue to participate in the next round of consultations with a constructive attitude.

 

"We hope all relevant parties will reach consensus on the draft resolution as early as possible and promote the establishment of a human rights council beneficial to the promotion of dialogue and cooperation," he said.

 

Eliasson presented to UN member states the new draft resolution on February 23, and called for all the member states to vote on it this week.

 

Establishing a human rights council to replace the Commission on Human Rights is one aspect of the UN reform decided at the UN Summit last September.

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 1, 2006)