Vice Premier Meets Overseas Chinese from Europe

Vice Premier Qian Qichen met Thursday a delegation made up of overseas Chinese and foreigners of Chinese origin from Europe, dubbed as "China Tour for Peaceful Reunification."

In his talks with the visitors, the vice-premier reiterated that "Peaceful Reunification and One Country, Two Systems" remains the basic principle on the Taiwan Issue for the Chinese government.

"We are exerting every means to achieve the peaceful reunification, but we'll never commit to giving up the use of force," he told the delegates. If the commitment is made, a peaceful reunification will become impossible, he added.

There are disputes between the two sides, but ways to solve them could be found by keeping in touch, Qian said, stressing that Taiwan will never be allowed to separate from China.

According to Qian, by the end of this June, 17.7 million Taiwan compatriots visited the mainland and the cross-straits trade topped 174 billion US dollars, while almost 50,000 Taiwan-funded enterprises have been set up in the mainland.

The cross-straits exchanges of personnel and trade cannot be stopped because they are compatible to the fundamental interests of the people and should be developed with greater effort, he said.

He praised overseas Chinese and foreigners of Chinese origin for their long-time contribution to the reunification of the motherland.

This is confirmed through the fact that many organizations like "the China Council for the Promotion of China's Peaceful Reunification (CCPCPR)" have been established in many foreign countries by overseas Chinese, foreigners of Chinese origin, and people from different circles, in response to the changes in the island province of Taiwan, according to the vice-premier.

Qian said it shows that no force can block the reunification of China which is a great trend and welcomed by the people. "You can do something by uniting overseas Chinese and foreigners of Chinese origin who are in favor of the reunification and oppose separatism and 'Taiwan independence.'"

The delegates, who have been here at the invitation of the CCPCPR, are made up of leaders of over 20 Europe-based groups similar to the CCPCPR.

Attending the meeting was Chen Yunlin, director of both the Taiwan Work Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.



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