In a statement released to the press, a Foreign Office spokesman said that Pakistan believes in the One-China policy, under which Taiwan is an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China.

The spokesman said that Pakistan also holds that the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing the whole of China, including both the Mainland and Taiwan.

"This has been consistently Pakistan's position in the past and this remains our position," the statement added.

In remarks made on August 3, Chen Shui-bian denied Taiwan was part of China, preaching that the two sides of the Straits were two equal sovereign states, or "Each side is a country." He also called for legislation on a referendum to decide the future of the island in a bid to split China.

(People's Daily August 11, 2002)