Winding up a two-day convention which opened in Washington on Saturday, the US-based alliance adopted a declaration which denounces any attempt to split China and calls for early peaceful unification of the motherland.

The declaration claimed cross-Straits exchanges and co-operation will go smoothly when the one-China principle is adhered to, and that such exchanges have so far not only facilitated mutual understanding between compatriots but also promoted economic development on the two sides of the Taiwan Straits.

But a handful of politicians in Taiwan, including the new Taiwan authorities, have so far refused to accept the one-China principle, and even declined to identify themselves as Chinese.

According to the alliance, this not only damages the identities of all Chinese people and strains cross-Straits relations, but it also jeopardizes peace and stability in the Asian and Pacific region.

Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, as well as over 30 million overseas Chinese, have resolved to oppose any attempt to split China, the declaration noted.

It called for unity of overseas Chinese in urging the Taiwan authorities to accept the one-China policy and commit themselves to cross-Straits dialogues for the eventual peaceful unification of China.

The declaration also denounced the US Government for selling advanced weapons to Taiwan, saying the arms sale is detrimental to world peace and the development of mankind as a whole.

Nearly 600 overseas Chinese representatives from over 40 countries and regions around the world attended the convention, the second of its kind. The first was held in Berlin in August.

Participants at the Washington convention agreed at the closing session on Sunday that the alliance's third convention will be held in Japan in mid-2001.

(China Daily 11/28/2000)