In a statement released in Beijing on Saturday, the NPC said it "expresses strong indignation at and resolute opposition to" the US move of interfering in China's internal affairs by exploiting the Taiwan issue, which had breached the three Sino-US joint communiqués.

The US made the move despite several serious presentations from China, the statement said.

The 2002 Supplemental Appropriations Act for Further Recovery From and Response to Terrorist Attacks on the United States adopted by the US Congress and ratified by President Bush includes many provisions relating to Taiwan. It equates Taiwan with US allies inside and outside NATO, and treats Taiwan's military and administrative personnel as those of US allies.

The act also gives the US president the right to take actions to protect those Taiwanese personnel if they are taken into custody by the International Criminal Court.

The NPC statement said it was well known that Taiwan had been part of China's territory since ancient times. This was not only confirmed by international law and recognized by the international community as an undisputable fact, but also the political basis for the resumption of contacts between China and the United States 30 years ago and the establishment of normal diplomatic relations 23 years ago.

Since diplomatic relations were set up, the US government in every term of office had publicly committed itself to following the "one China" policy, abiding by the three Sino-US joint communiqués and explicitly recognizing Taiwan as part of China, the statement pointed out.

"However, the above-mentioned act has openly sought to elevate US relations with Taiwan, which is in sheer ignorance of basic standards of international law, serious violation of the principles of the three Sino-US joint communiqués and crass interference in China's internal affairs, and thus is unacceptable to the Chinese people," it said.

It had long been recognized by the international community that the Taiwan issue was part of China's internal affairs, the NPC Foreign Affairs Committee said.

It was regrettable that there had always been a few people in the US Congress who spared no means to contain China by exploiting the Taiwan issue, advocating bills in violation of the principles of the three Sino-US joint communiqués and backing "Taiwan Independence" forces in a vain bid to stymie China's peaceful reunification and the improvement and development of the Sino-US relations, it said.

The statement pointed out that maintaining stable and healthy growth of the Sino-US relations was in the fundamental interests of both countries, and such healthy development of bilateral ties needed to be treasured by both sides.

If provisions in the act relating to Taiwan became policies of the US government, they would not only be detrimental to China's interests, but also to the interests of the United States. This was not what the two peoples were willing to see, the statement said.

Finally, the statement urged "the US government to scrupulously abide by the principles of the three Sino-US joint communiqués, appropriately handle the Taiwan issue, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs by exploiting the Taiwan issue, and take effective measures to eliminate the negative effects of the legislation, in order to avoid new serious damage to the Sino-US relations".

(Xinhua News Agency August 4, 2002)