He Yafei, director of the North American and Oceanic Affairs Department of the Foreign Ministry, met Michael W. Marine, minister of the US Embassy in China on Saturday and lodged a formal representation over the US act.

The US Congress recently adopted the 2002 Supplemental Appropriations Act for the Further Recovery from and Response to Terrorist Attacks on the United States, which includes many provisions relating to Taiwan.

The provisions of the act on protecting US military personnel place Taiwan in the same category as other US allies, including those in NATO, thus ranking Taiwan military and administrative personnel at the same level as personnel of other US allies, and calling for the immunity of such Taiwanese personnel from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

He said the Chinese side sternly demanded the US side see clearly the pernicious nature of the act, scrupulously abide by the principles enshrined in the three Sino-US joint communiqu?s, explicitly oppose the provisions relating to Taiwan, and take effective steps to do away with their negative influences to keep Sino-US relations from being seriously undermined.

Marine said he would forward the representations of China to his government accurately and faithfully and reaffirmed the US position on one-China policy remained unchanged.

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the China's National People's Congress (NPC) issued a statement on Saturday criticizing the US legislation.

The NPC expressed "strong indignation at, and resolute opposition" to US interference in China's internal affairs by its exploitation of the Taiwan question and its breaking of its commitment to the three Sino-US joint communiqu?s.

Kong Quan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, said the US act seriously violates the principles of the three Sino-US joint communiqu?s, runs counter to the one-China policy that the US Government has repeatedly declared support for, and irresponsibly interferes in China's internal affairs, Kong said.

He said China has made repeated presentations to the US Government, which has failed to take effective measures to stop the passage of the act, although it has expressed opposition to the provisions within it.

(China Daily August 5, 2002)