March 15, 2000-- "Taiwan independence" is never  allowed and "Taiwan independence" in whatever form is not  acceptable, said Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji in Beijing on March 15.

"No matter who comes into power in Taiwan in the election, we  won't allow the 'independence of Taiwan' to happen," he stressed,  adding "this is the bottom line of the Chinese government on the  Taiwan Issue."

"Our consistent policy for the settlement of the Taiwan issue  has been 'peaceful reunification' and 'one country, two systems'," he said. "But we absolutely do not promise giving up the use of  force (for the settlement of the Taiwan issue)."

"We will support whoever supports  the 'one China' principle,  and we can hold negotiations with them on any question and are  ready to make concessions on our part," he said.

"Whoever proposes 'Taiwan independence' will be doomed," he  warned. "Because such a proposition runs against the wishes of the Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and runs  against the wishes of all Chinese in the world."