The Chinese people have always prized national unity. To safeguard the unity of the motherland is the firm aspiration of the entire Chinese people. Hong Kong has already returned to the motherland; Macao will return on December 20 this year. It is certain that the Taiwan question will eventually be resolved. No country will allow its own territory to be split off, nor will it allow any foreign force to create or support such a split. Our guideline for solving the Taiwan question is "peaceful reunification and one country, two systems." In resolving the Taiwan question, we will not undertake to renounce the use of force precisely for the purpose of bringing about a peaceful resolution of the Taiwan question. The Chinese people have both the determination and ability to achieve the complete reunification of their motherland. The series of recent severe earthquakes that occurred in the region of Taiwan weight heavily on the heart of everyone in China. I would like to take this opportunity to again
express profound condolences to our compatriots in Taiwan who have suffered from the earthquakes.
The world is a colorful and varied one. The people of each country follow the path of development they have chosen for themselves and pursue their own ideals. This is an I inevitable demand and basic criterion for the progress of human civilization and world democracy. It is therefore an unstoppable tide of history. We b