Chinese President Jiang Zemin urged compatriots across the Taiwan Straits to step up contact and increase cooperation, and to make concerted efforts towards a peaceful reunification of the motherland as early as possible.

Jiang, also General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), made the call while meeting with a delegation of China Reunification Alliance of Taiwan (CRAT) in Beijing Monday.

President Jiang praised CRAT's unswerving efforts toward promoting the development of relations across the Straits and the process of reunification of the motherland and asked compatriots across the Taiwan Straits to continue to promote the development of relations across the Straits, and to work for direct mail, trade and transport service between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland.

"Solving the issue of Taiwan and realizing a full reunification of the motherland conform to the popular sentiments," said Jiang, "and no body or force can hold up the historical tide."

"In the new century, we will continue to persist in the basic principle of 'peaceful reunification, and one country, two systems' and eight proposals I put forward in 1995 about promoting relations across the Straits and advancing a peaceful reunification of the motherland," Jiang went on.

Jiang noted that at present the fundamental obstacle for an improvement and development in relations across the Taiwan Straits is that Taiwan authorities refuse to accept the one-China principle.

"We have again and again reiterated as long as Taiwan authorities clearly accept the one-China principle, the relations across the Straits can be ensured of a steady development, dialogues and negotiations across the straits can also be resumed, " said Jiang, who also pledged support to compatriots, groups and personages on Taiwan who recognize the one-China principle and endorse the reunification of the motherland.

(People's Daily October 29, 2001)