China on December 10 lodged a strong protest against US President Bill Clinton's recent signing of two bills in support of Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization (WHO).

Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi made the protest in a meeting with the Charge d'affaires of the U.S. embassy in China G.Eugene Martin on Friday.

Yang said that President Clinton disregarded the Chinese opposition to the matter when he signed the bills, saying that the US State Department will report to the U.S. Congress the various governmental departments' support of Taiwan's participation in international organizations, especially the WHO.

Prior to this, President Clinton also signed the Omnibus Act, containing clauses in support of Taiwan's participation in the WHO, and saying that the U.S. State Department will submit a report every half year to Congress on the efforts of governmental departments' support of Taiwan's participation in the international organizations which are composed of sovereign states, according to Yang.

"I, entrusted by the Chinese government, have lodged strong protest against the U.S. government's acts of seriously infringing upon China's sovereignty and grossly interfering in China's internal affairs," the Chinese vice-foreign minister said.

Yang pointed out that Taiwan is a province of China, and under international law does not have the right to join the international organizations for which statehood is required. He added that the U.S. government has made a clear commitment to the Chinese government and people that it would not support Taiwan's membership in these world organizations.

The two U.S. bills which support Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization and other international bodies of which statehood is a condition of entry are playing semantics in order to help Taiwan to squeeze into them and bolster Taiwan's expanded activities in the international arena and create "two Chinas" and "one China, one Taiwan," Yang said.

He added that the U.S. government's action completely violates the principles of the three Sino-U.S. joint communiques and relevant commitments made by the U.S., and is also a serious obstruction to China's reunification, and a wanton trampling on basic norms of international relations.

The Chinese government and people have expressed their strong resentment and firm opposition to this, Yang said.

Yang stressed that it is the common aspiration of all the Chinese people including the Taiwan compatriots to settle the issue of Taiwan and accomplish the reunification of the country.

The Chinese government and people are ready and able to achieve the total reunification of the nation, and no one can stop this, he noted.

He pointed out the Taiwan issue is the most important and sensitive in Sino-U.S. relations, and the U.S. side knows this clearly.

China solemnly demands that the U.S. strictly abide by the "one China" policy, observe the three joint communiques and relevant commitments, take concrete steps to correct its wrong-doings and never support Taiwan's entry into the WHO and other international bodies in which only a sovereign state can join; if it does, it must be prepared for serious consequences, he stressed.

The Chinese vice-foreign minister urged Martin to immediately report China's solemn representations and strong protest to the US government.

In reply, Martin said that he will immediately do so, according to a Foreign Ministry official.