Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said Friday that China "firmly opposes" a United States defense bill that contains provisions on Taiwan.

"The China-concerned provisions in the US defense authorization bill for fiscal year 2006 severely violate the three Sino-US joint communiques and the one-China policy the US government has reiterated many times," said Kong.

The US House of Representatives voted late Wednesday to approve a 491-billion-dollar defense authorization bill for the fiscal year 2006, which starts on Oct. 1. The bill contains provisions for high-level military educational exchanges between the United States and Taiwan.

"We firmly oppose them and have made solemn representations to the US side," Kong said.

China urges the US to "clearly recognize the severe harm of these provisions" and prevent them from becoming law. If measures are not taken, the bill could damage the peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits and pose serious negative impact on the relations and cooperation between the two countries, Kong said.

Source: Xinhua