Premier pledges national unity, further reforms
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-10-01 09:10

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pledged to reunify the mainland with Taiwan, vowing to contain forces intent on independence for the island to ensure the sacred goal of national unity.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao toasts to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949, during a reception at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing September 30, 2004. [Reuters]

In a speech to mark Friday's 55th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic, Wen said China would pursue its basic policy of peaceful reunification with Taiwan.

"The sacred goal of complete national reunification must be achieved. It shall be achieved in the end," he said to long and loud applause.

Beijing would "firmly oppose and contain the separatist forces in Taiwan and unswervingly safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said in a speech to the top leadership and hundreds of guests.

Senior Chinese leaders, including Hu Jintao, Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Zeng Qinghong, Huang Ju, Wu Guanzheng, Li Changchun and Luo Gan, and over 4,000 people attended the reception.

Wen said at the reception that compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan are our brothers and sisters, and China will continue to follow the principles of "Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong," "Macao people governing Macao" and a high degree of autonomy, act in strict accordance with the relevant Basic Laws and work to maintain long-term prosperity and stability in the two special administrative regions.

The premier went on by pledging further political and economic reforms that have made China the world's fastest-growing major economy.

Wen said the year of 2004 is a year in which China has seen remarkable achievements in both development and reform. By strengthening macroeconomic control and pushing reform and opening-up, China has eased economic difficulties and maintained steady and fairly rapid growth, laying a sound foundation for future development and reform.

"The 55 years of glory have given us an important and fundamental conclusion: China must follow the path of independently building socialism with Chinese characteristics under the firm leadership of the Chinese Communist Party," Wen said.

"We must always take economic development as our central task and try to solve the problems we face through development. We need to come up with new ideas on development," he told the reception in the Great Hall of the People.

Wen said China needed fresh ideas on development.

"We must push forward our economic restructuring, our political restructuring and reforms in other areas," he said.

On China's foreign policy, the premier said that China will stick to peaceful development, uphold peace, development and cooperation, pursue an independent foreign policy of peace and actively develop friendship and cooperation with various countries in the world.

China will never seek hegemony, he said, adding that it will join all the peace-loving forces of the world in opposing hegemony, power politics and terrorism in all forms and manifestations.

Wen also addressed the scourge of corruption, which has emerged alongside economic reforms after being virtually wiped out in the years after the Communist Party took power in 1949.

"We must carry out the fight against corruption in a more intensive manner ... We must address both the symptoms and the root causes of corruption," he said.

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