ARATS Official Stresses "One China" Policy ����Leaders in Taiwan and of the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) were urged in Hong Kong Monday to stop sabotaging the cross-Straits relations and contacts between the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) and the SEF. ����Tang Shubei, executive vice-president of the ARATS, told Hong Kong media that the "one China" principle is essential to the stability of the across-Straits relations and the cooperation between the ARATS and the SEF, which reached a common understanding on the "one China" principle in 1992. ����However, leaders in Taiwan and of the SEF made the fallacious remarks that the relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits are special "state-to-state" relations, Tang said, noting that this is a gross sabotage of the cross-Straits relations and the understanding between the ARATS and the SEF. ����He said some leaders in Taiwan and of the SEF used to hold that there is only "one China" in the world. ����Statesmen should keep their words, and their failure to keep their promise will only cause disaster to the people of Taiwan, he said. ����He noted that their fallacious remarks could by no means change the fact that there is only one China in the world and that Taiwan is part of China, and that their splittist action will be doomed to failure. ����Tang pledged that the ARATS will resolutely support the stance of the spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Offices of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and of the State Council in refuting Lee-Teng-hui's remarks that cross-Straits relations are special "state-to-state" relations, and he hoped the Taiwan authorities would stop their behavior of "playing with fire." ����He pointed out that it is the consistent stance of the mainland to solve the Taiwan question by peaceful means, and the mainland has been working hard for the goal since 1979. ����The majority of the Taiwan compatriots also expect stable cross- Straits relations, but not the sabotage of the relations, he said, emphasizing that the stance of the mainland to resolutely safeguard the state sovereignty and territorial integrity will never change. ����When asked about the Taiwan trip by ARARTS President Wang Daohan, Tang said that both sides had discussed Wang's Taiwan tour this fall, but not yet set the specific timetable. He expressed the hope that the SEF would stop sabotaging the basis for the normal exchanges between the ARATS and the SEF. ����He said that since 1987, some 14 million Taiwan compatriots have come to the mainland for such activities as investment, business, study, travel and visiting relatives, and more than 100, 000 of them often stay in the mainland. ����The proper rights and interests of the Taiwan compatriots and their personal safety have been fully protected in the mainland, he said, adding some cases involving their security account for only a tiny proportion, compared with the large number of Taiwan visitors. ����Tang noted that some people in Taiwan made improper exaggeration of these cases, pointing out that this will be harmful to the normal development of the cross-Straits relations. ����He said that the direct postal, commercial and transport links across the Taiwan Straits is the most pressing issue to safeguard Taiwan compatriots' rights and interests, and it is inevitable to mention their rights and interests without the direct three links. (Xinhua) HomeNews 1999-07-13 Page4 Full Story in Chinese