"The conspiracy to separate Taiwan from China in the way of a referendum, which is illegal and invalid, will go nowhere,'' said Zhang Mingqing, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, China's cabinet.

He made the remark at a regular press conference when asked to comment on reports that some Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members were pushing ahead with legislation on a referendum in the "Legislative Yuan,'' or "Taiwan's parliament."

Zhang said the separatist moves go against the common aspiration of the Chinese people for a reunification between Taiwan and the mainland.

"All the Chinese people should stay alert for the attempt by a handful of pro-independence members to promote Taiwan independence and split the motherland,'' he said.

A 1999 resolution adopted by the pro-independence DPP stipulates that any altering of the island's status quo must be decided through a referendum by all the residents of the island.

In early August last year, Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian, who also heads the DPP, called for a referendum to change Taiwan's status quo on independence while preaching that "each side (of the Taiwan Straits) is a country.''

Beijing then fired a strong warning to the island while accusing Chen's pro-independence moves of leading Taiwan to the brink of disaster.

"Taiwan's legal status as part of the Chinese territory has been explicitly stated in both domestic and international laws,'' Zhang told reporters.

He stressed Taiwan belongs to all 1.3 billion Chinese people including Taiwan compatriots.

"So the future of Taiwan should also be determined by all 1.3 billion,'' Zhang said.

He also said the speech on Taiwan by the Communist Party's top leader, Hu Jintao, will further direct the mainland's work on Taiwan affairs.

Hu, general secretary of the Party's Central Committee, made the speech at a panel discussion during the first session of the 10th National People's Congress on March 11.

Zhang said the speech showed the Party's attention to Taiwan affairs, its confidence in settling Taiwan affairs and the nation's unanimous desire for reunification.

The speech also showed that the Party had maintained consistent and innovative policies on Taiwan affairs.

The spokesman also said no foreign companies will be allowed to participate in cross-Straits air and sea transportation operations once the three links -- transport, trade and postal services -- are put into place in the future.

"Cross-Straits direct links are purely internal affairs of both sides of the Taiwan Straits and we will not agree to allow foreign shipping companies and airlines to engage in related business,'' Zhang said.

Last year, Beijing backed away from its original insistence that future sea and air routes across the Taiwan Straits should be regarded as domestic routes and agreed to define the links as "cross-Straits routes.''

But it stands firm on the long-cherished principle that the three cross-Straits links are internal affairs within one country.

"Foreign capital will be excluded from the cross-Straits transport market if these links are regarded as domestic routes,'' the "Taiwan Affairs Office" once said.

In line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, any coastal state can reserve for domestic firms the exclusive right to operate its coastal transportation, trade and fishing industries.

However, Zhang said Wednesday that Chinese-registered ships and planes owned by Sino-foreign joint ventures may be allowed to join the direct link operations.

"Sino-overseas joint stock shipping groups and airlines can send their Chinese-registered planes and ships to participate in cross-Straits direct air and sea transportation operations,'' he said.

Taipei has yet to scrap its decades-old ban on the three direct links despite growing calls from Taiwanese business and industrial leaders for an early establishment of the links.

In another development, Beijing has approved China Airlines' request to use its air space so it can avoid the Iraqi war zone.

Pu Zhaozhou, director of the Office of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Affairs under the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC), told China Daily that EVA Airways -- also from Taiwan -- lodged an application on Tuesday to use mainland air space. It is pending approval.

The CAAC offered to open emergency air routes to Taiwanese airlines to facilitate their flights to Europe and Central Asia on March 21, a day after the Iraqi war broke out.

China has allowed a total of five foreign airlines to use its air routes in the vast northwest Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in a bid to help them stay clear of the war, Pu said.

(China Daily March 27, 2003)