Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said yesterday that Taiwan, rather than being a protectorate of any foreign country, is an integral part of Chinese territory, that the Taiwan question is the country's internal affair and that China will tolerate no outside interference.

Kong made the remarks at a regular press conference when commenting on remarks made recently by a high-ranking US official that the United States will firmly observe its commitment to defend the island.

US leaders have repeatedly stressed their strict adherence to the one-China policy and the three Sino-US joint communiquis and their rejection of efforts to seek Taiwan independence or to separate the island from the Chinese motherland, Kong said.

"Keeping its promises to neither interfere in China's internal affairs nor inflame pro-independence forces in Taiwan, the US side should play a constructive role in promoting the peaceful reunification of the two sides of the Straits," he added.

The spokesman also denounced the criticism leveled by a US international religious freedom committee against China's policies on religion and ethnic minorities as well as the legal ban on the Falun Gong cult as "truly baseless and unreasonable."

The committee recently released a report commenting on the religious situation in some developing countries, including China, according to reports.

"By doing so, the committee has trampled one of the basic principles of international relations and interfered in China's internal affairs," Kong said. "Chinese people will show strong opposition."

In China, the government protects citizens' religious freedom according to the law, Kong said.

With the aim of safeguarding people's basic human rights, the Chinese Government has banned the Falun Gong with the approval of not only the masses but also from religious groups, he said.

With reference to the incident involving the Japanese sinking of a ship in Chinese waters, Kong said that after admitting China's sovereignty and administration rights over the exclusive economic zone and conducting necessary legal procedures in accordance with China's law and regulations, the Japanese side had conducted underwater investigations on an unidentified sunken ship in the East China Sea between May 1 and 8, according to Kong.

The ship sank in the East China Sea after a shoot-out with the Japan Coastguard in December.

In addition, Chinese ships and planes carried out supervision during the entire course of the Japanese investigation, said the spokesman.

During the period, the Japanese side informed the Chinese side of the daily progress of the investigation; and Japan will further reveal the results of the investigation in the near future, he noted.

(China Daily May 10, 2002)