President Hu Jintao said on Tuesday that secessionist activities in Taiwan have become the greatest menace to China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, but such activities are doomed to fail.

"The 'Taiwan independence' activities have run counter to the Chinese nation's strong will to safeguard national unity. Such activities will get nowhere and are doomed to fail," Hu told political advisors attending the first annual full session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing.

President Hu Jintao on Tuesday meets with political advisors attending the first annual full session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing.(Xinhua Photo)

Hu, also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and chairman of the Central Military Commission, observed that the "Taiwan independence" activities have become "the biggest menace to national sovereignty and territorial integrity, the biggest obstacle to the development of cross-Strait relations, and the biggest threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits."

Meanwhile, he pledged that the mainland will make utmost effort to do a good job in anything that is good to the Taiwan compatriots and conducive to safeguarding peace in the Taiwan Straits and promoting the peaceful reunification of the motherland.

"We are always committed to our pledges to the Taiwan compatriots. We will never sway upon temporary fluctuations of the situation, or change upon a few individuals' deliberate disturbances," said the president.

As for the realization of peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, Hu said, "we take adherence to the one-China principle as the foundation, with the seeking of benefits for compatriots on both sides of the Straits as the objective, and the deepening of mutually-beneficial, win-win exchange and cooperation as the approach."

"We are ready to have exchange, dialogue, consultation and negotiation with any political parties in Taiwan, as long as they recognize that both sides of the Taiwan Straits belong to one China," Hu stated.

"The negotiation will be conducted on an equal footing with completely open topics -- there is nothing we can't talk about," he added.

"We look forward to the formal end of the state of hostility across the Straits through joint efforts by both sides and consultations based on the one-China principle, and hope to reach a peace agreement and build up a framework for the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations," he told the advisors.

Dangerous move by Chen Shui-bian

Chen Shui-bian and Taiwan authorities are destined to pay a dear price if they stubbornly take the dangerous path of "Taiwan independence" and make a desperate throw of dice, Jiang Enzhu, spokesman for the First Session of the 11th National People's Congress, told a press conference in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday, March 4.

Jiang told the press conference that the so-called "referendum on UN membership" pursued by the Chen Shui-bian authorities is a grave step in seeking "de jure independence" of Taiwan and will seriously harm the peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits and the Asia-Pacific region.

"Safeguarding peace across the Taiwan Straits has been the most important and most urgent task for the compatriots on both sides of the Straits," he said.

He said the Chinese mainland and Taiwan belong to one China. Any issues involving China's sovereignty and territorial integrity must be decided by all the 1.3 billion people of the entire China, Taiwan compatriots included.

"Conflicts and disputes between the two sides of the Straits could be resolved by equal consultations in the process of peaceful development of cross-Straits relations," he said.

He called on Taiwan compatriots to be aware of Chen's intention of conducting the "referendum" and its serious consequences.

To resolutely check "Taiwan Independence" activities is an essential premise of maintaining peace in the Taiwan Straits, Jiang said.

The mainland will adhere to the principle of "peaceful reunification, and one country, two systems", the eight-point proposal for developing relations across the Taiwan Straits, and the four-point guideline on the relations with the island to safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, the spokesman said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 4, 2008)