China expressed strong dissatisfaction with and protest against the visit by Lee Hsien Loong, deputy prime minister of Singapore, to Taiwan, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue in Beijing Sunday.

The Singaporean side should take full responsibilities for results from the event, Zhang said.

Lee, neglecting China's repeated solemn representations, insisted on heading for Taiwan for a so-called unofficial visit on July 10.

Zhang said the Taiwan issue is directly related to China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and the Chinese government firmly opposes official relations in any form between countries that have established diplomatic ties with China and the Taiwan authorities.

The Singaporean leader hurts China's core interests, the political base between the two countries and the feeling of 1.3 billion Chinese people, by heading for Taiwan under any excuse, said the spokeswoman.

(Xinhua News Agency July 12, 2004)