Vice President Zeng Qinghong hosted a National Day reception Wednesday evening in the Great Hall of the People to receive over 3,000 overseas Chinese and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

Zeng, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, expressed on behalf of the Chinese government and the Chinese people warm welcome to the guests and extended sincere greetings and best wishes to overseas Chinese and compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

Present at the reception were Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and Vice Premier Huang Ju. They are also members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

Zeng said at the reception that the People's Republic of China has made great achievements for the past 55 years. The country has been playing an increasingly important role in the world, which the Chinese people, both at home and abroad, have felt proud of.

Noting that China is now in a historical period of strategic opportunities and concentrates on building a well-off society in an all-round way, Zeng expressed his hope that overseas Chinese and compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan will continue to support the great cause of the motherland.

Zeng pointed out that in Hong Kong and Macao, the basic principles of "One Country, Two Systems," "Hong Kong People Governing Hong Kong," "Macao People Governing Macao" and high degree of autonomy have been fully implemented since they returned to the motherland.

The central government will unswervingly adhere to the "One Country, Two Systems" principle and the basic laws for the two special administrative regions, and further promote cooperation in various fields between the mainland and the two regions, Zeng said, expressing his confidence in a promising future of Hong Kong and Macao.

Zeng stressed that resolving the Taiwan issue and realizing the complete reunification of the motherland are the common aspiration of the Chinese offspring both at home and abroad.

"We will stick to the basic guideline of peaceful reunification and 'One Country, Two Systems', and pursue the eight-point proposition on developing the cross-Straits ties and pushing forward the peaceful reunification cause of the motherland at the present stage," he said.

"The activities by the separatist forces of 'Taiwan Independence' are detrimental to China's sovereignty and territoryintegrity, to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait area and to the basic interests of all the Chinese offspring, including Taiwan compatriots," he said.

"We'll unswervingly safeguard state sovereignty and territorialintegrity and firmly oppose any conspiracy by any one to split Taiwan in any way," he said.

Zeng said that the widespread overseas Chinese are both a unique advantage that could be used for China to promote its development and a key bridge through which the world and China can understand each other.

"We sincerely hope that overseas Chinese could make a more splendid contribution in the development process of their motherland and play a more active role in prompting friendly cooperation between China and the countries where they live, said Zeng.

State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan presided over the reception, which was also attended by a number of other senior Chinese officials.

(Xinhua News Agency September 30, 2004)