Beijing has lodged a protest with Washington on a resolution by some US Congress members who have called for marking the 30th anniversary of the so-called Taiwan Relations Act.

"Despite China's clear opposition, a handful of representatives from the US Congress insisted on proposing a resolution to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a statement yesterday.

Ma said it is known to all that the so-called Taiwan Relations Act, enacted unilaterally by the United States, gravely violates basic norms guiding international relations. It also violates the United States' serious commitment to China and interferes in China's internal affairs.

"We urge the US to abide by the basic norms guiding international relations and the principles enshrined in the three Sino-US joint communiques, not to deliberate and pass the resolution in any form, and properly and prudently handle the Taiwan question," Ma said.

The Taiwan Relations Act, passed by the US Congress in 1979, requires the United States "to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character".

(Xinhua News Agency February 26, 2009)