Visiting British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in Beijing on Thursday that the British government adheres to the one-China policy and opposes to the proposed "referendum on Taiwan's UN membership".

Miliband, briefing the press after the just-concluded talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, said the British government has adhered to the one-China policy since 1972 and still sticks to the this policy at present.

"We do not support the 'referendum' of joining in the United Nations in the name of Taiwan," Miliband told reporters.

He called on both sides of the Taiwan Straits to work to reduce tension, which accords the regional peace and security.

Yang Jiechi said in the meeting that the Chinese side appreciates British government's stance of opposing the "Taiwan independence" and the Taiwan authorities' proposed "referendum on UN membership".

"The Taiwan authorities are making unscrupulous efforts to push for 'Taiwan independence' at this moment, and it is them who cause the tension across the Straits," Yang said.

China is glad to see the international community come out strongly against "Taiwan independence" and the proposed "referendum on Taiwan's UN membership", Yang said, calling on the international community to go on working with China to safeguard the peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits and in the Asia-Pacific region.

"We will make great efforts with great sincerity for the peaceful reunification of our country. But 'Taiwan independence' is absolutely unacceptable," Yang said.

Miliband, who started his six-day official visit to China on February 24, arrived in Beijing Wednesday afternoon following his tour to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Chongqing. He will meet Premier Wen Jiabao Thursday afternoon and deliver a speech at the elite Peking University Friday.

(Xinhua News Agency February 28, 2008)