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No independence for Taiwan,

open to dialogue: China

BEIJING: China said Saturday that it will never allow independence for Taiwan but that it was open to dialogue with Taiwan's new president-elect Chen Shui-bian. "The election of a new leader in Taiwan cannot change the fact that Taiwan is part of Chinese territory," the Chinese government said in its first reaction to Saturday's victory by the pro-independence Chen. "The "one China" principle is the prerequisite for peaceful reunification," the government said in a statement carried by the official Xinhua news agency. "'Taiwan independence' in whatever form will never be allowed," said the statement from the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council. "There is only one China, and Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory," it said. "We should listen to what the new leader in Taiwan says and watch what he does, the statement added. "We will observe where he will lead cross-Straits relations," it continued. "We are willing to exchange views on cross-Straits relations and peaceful reunification with all parties, organisations, and personages in Taiwan who favour the "One China" principle. "We appeal to Taiwan compatriots to combine their efforts with ours to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the motherland, protect the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation, and realise the complete reunification of the motherland," it concluded.

Taiwan military on

special 'alert'

TAIPEI: The Taiwan military is to go on a special 39-hour state of "heightened alertness" starting on Friday, increasing the number of servicemen on duty to counter China's war threats, military officials said.ÑAFP