However, if a grave turn of events occurs leading to the separation of Taiwan from China in any name, or if Taiwan is invaded and occupied by foreign countries, or if the Taiwan authorities refuse, sine die, the peaceful settlement of cross-Straits reunification through negotiations, then the Chinese government will have no choice but to adopt all drastic measures possible, including the use of force, to safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and achieve the great cause of reunification.

These are contained in a white paper titled "China's National Defense in 2000" and published by the Information Office of the State Council Monday.

The white paper stresses that the settlement of the Taiwan issue and realization of the complete reunification of China embodies the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation.

It says that the Chinese government upholds the basic principle of "peaceful reunification, and one country, two systems" for settling the Taiwan issue, carrying forward the eight propositions on the development of relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits and the promotion of the peaceful reunification of China.

The Chinese government has consistently adhered to the one- China principle and will never give in or compromise on the fundamental issues concerning state sovereignty and territorial integrity, the white paper says, noting that the change of the Taiwan regional leaders can not change the fact that Taiwan is a part of Chinese territory.

The white paper says that the settlement of the Taiwan issue is entirely an internal affair of China. The Chinese government firmly opposes any country selling arms to Taiwan, or entering into military alliances in any form with Taiwan, as well as outside interference in any way, it stresses.

It reiterates that the "Taiwan independence" means provoking war again, and fomenting splits means relinquishing peace across the Straits, saying that the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) unswervingly takes the will of the state as its supreme will and the national interests as its supreme interests.

The PLA has the absolute determination, confidence, ability and means to safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity, and will never tolerate, condone or remain indifferent to the realization of any scheme to divide the motherland, it says.

The Taiwan Straits situation is complicated and grim, the white paper says. It condemns Lee Teng-hui for his "two states" theory in an attempt to split the country and criticizes the new leaders of the Taiwan authorities for their evasive and obscure attitude to the one-China principle.

Separatist forces in Taiwan are scheming to separate the island province from China, in one form or another, the white paper says, stressing that this has seriously undermined the preconditions and foundation for peaceful reunification across the Straits. This is the root cause of tension across the Taiwan Straits, it adds.

The United States has never stopped selling advanced weapons to Taiwan, the white paper says, adding that some people in the United States have been trying hard to get the Congress to pass the so-called Taiwan Security Enhancement Act. And some are even attempting to incorporate Taiwan into the US TMD system.

The newly revised Guidelines for US-Japan Defense Cooperation has failed to explicitly undertake to exclude Taiwan from the scope of "the areas surrounding Japan" referred to in the Japanese security bill that could involve military intervention, the white paper says.

These actions have inflated the arrogance of the separatist forces in Taiwan, seriously undermined China's sovereignty and security and imperiled the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region, it stresses.

China is also strongly against any attempt to incorporate Taiwan in any form into the TMD system by any country, the white paper says.

(Xinhua 10/16/2000)