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Chinese Premier Stresses no Taiwan SeparationChinese Premier Zhu Rongji said in Beijing on April 10 during talks with his Singaporean counterpart Goh Chok Tong that China will never allow Taiwan to separate from the motherland.Zhu told the prime minister of Singapore, who arrived Sunday evening for an 11-day official visit, that China hopes to realize peaceful reunification across the Taiwan Straits under the one- China principle, and will work tirelessly to that end. "We will by no means allow Taiwan to separate from China," he stressed. "That is an issue of principle, and we will never give in an inch in matters of principle." Goh Chok Tong said Singapore considers the Taiwan situation an internal issue of China, and stressed Singapore is opposed of Taiwan independence and any steps towards such action. Zhu and Goh Chok Tong said they are both satisfied with the development of the bilateral relationship since China and Singapore established diplomatic ties 10 years ago. They also discussed a wide range of issues of mutual concern during their 90-minute talk. Over the past 10 years, China and Singapore have witnessed a steady growth in the exchange and cooperation in areas of economy, science and technology, education and personnel training, Zhu noted. He hopes that the two sides will increase cooperation in telecommunications, information technology and finance. In addition, the two countries have strengthened coordination and cooperation in many international and regional affairs, he said. China and Singapore will issue a joint statement during Goh's visit, outlining the future scope of bilateral relations, according to Zhu. "With the joint efforts of our two sides, the all-round and pragmatic cooperation between our two countries will constantly see new results," Zhu said. Goh said he and the Singapore government pays close attention to China's development, and Singaporean businessmen are deeply interested in China's strategy to develop its vast western region. Goh will visit Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province in the northwest, during his stay in China. He said Singapore hopes to accelerate the pace of two-way personnel exchange and the cooperation in economic and trade areas, and push the bilateral relationship to new highs. Prior to the talks, Zhu held a welcoming ceremony for the Singaporean prime minister. Zhu's wife Lao An, Vice-Chairman of the Central Committee of the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League Li Minkuan, and Goh's wife were present at the ceremony. Chinese Minister of Construction Yu Zhengsheng, Vice-Minister of the State Economic and Trade Commission Shi Wanpeng, and Singaporean Minister for Law and Foreign Minister Shunmugam Jayakumar attended the talks.
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