Taiwan separatists are doomed to fail, according to an article in the People's Liberation Army Daily.

On September 1, Taiwan authorities began to issue their so-called "new passports," with "Taiwan" printed on the cover.

On September 6, with the support of Taiwan authorities, pro-independence forces on the island, took to the street with their name rectification campaign, pushing to change the island's official name from the "Republic of China" to Taiwan.

The latest uproar is a continuation of the old tricks of the island's pro-independence diehards in their efforts to separate Taiwan from the motherland by promoting "desinification" and pursuing "incremental independence," which has greatly harmed cross-Straits relations.

Taiwan authorities have been working to advance "gradual Taiwan independence" since Chen Shui-bian took office in 2000.

In the early days when Chen was elected as the new leader of Taiwan, because of his weak power base and fear of pressure from both home and abroad, he took a "soft" political stance, declaring his "five-nots" promises. He pledged not to declare independence, not to change the name of Taiwan, not to push for inclusion of the "two states" description in the constitution, not to promote a referendum about independence or reunification and not to abolish the National Unification Council and the Guidelines for National Unification.

Nevertheless, he has never recognized himself as "Chinese" and has refused to accept the one-China principle while at the same time denying the "1992 consensus," all in a bid to move Taiwan further away from the motherland.

On August 3, 2002, he went even further, openly denying that Taiwan was part of China, preaching that the two sides of the Straits were equal sovereign states, and that there was "one country on each side" of the Taiwan Straits. Chen's "one country on each side" statement proved that his promises were nothing but a trick to deceive the public, and also made clear that he had moved from a covert independence policy to an overt one.

Taking advantage of its ruling position in government and its resources, Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has been leading the island toward gradual independence.

In a string of actions aimed at creating conditions for "Taiwan independence," the "desinification" policy has been carried out by the Taiwan leader in the areas of politics, ideology, history, education and culture.

Examples of these policies include the use of a new logo for Taiwan's "Government Information Office," abandoning the old map of China, printing "Taiwan" on the cover of its passports and covertly issuing the new passports.

In the eyes of the independence forces, the name " Republic of China" gives people the impression that there are links between Taiwan and China, and thus has become a major obstacle for the island in its efforts to gain independent state status in the international community.

In the field of education and culture, turning a deaf ear to strong opposition from the Taiwan people, Taiwan's "Ministry of Education" is determined to adopt tongyong pinyin, a Chinese romanization system created by a group of linguists in favour of Taiwan independence.

To them, the adoption of tongyong pinyin will be more than a linguistic achievement.

Such a move will promote the elevation of Taiwan culture while reducing the influence of Chinese culture and Taiwan's historical ties with the motherland, thus bringing Taiwan closer towards "Taiwanization," a political goal of the DPP.

In their attempt to distance the island further away from the road of reunification with the mainland, Taiwan authorities have been engaged in a feverish attempt to remove everything from Taiwan that may have a connection to the Chinese mainland.

Taiwan has always been an integral part of China. It has never been an independent state. History bears out this fact.

Any tricks such as a change of the name of the island or the phonetic system can never change such an indisputable fact.

The gradual independence campaign goes against the internationally acknowledged one-China principle as well as against the mainstream wishes and the fundamental interests of Chinese people as a whole.

Taiwan authorities should bear in mind that they should not forsake the fundamental interests of the citizens of Taiwan in the pursuit of their political interests.

The Taiwan independence road is a cul-de-sac.

(China Daily September 17, 2003)