Spokesman: Hu, Chen meeting should be held on "own soil"

A Chinese central government spokesman said on Wednesday in Beijing that any possible meeting between President Hu Jintao and Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian should be held on "our own soil."

"The Taiwan issue is an internal issue of the Chinese people, so any such meeting should only occur on our own soil," said Li Weiyi, spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, at a routine press conference when asked to comment on Chen's remarks that he would like to meet with Hu in the United States.

At the press conference, Li also reiterated the principle that the mainland is ready to talk with any persons or parties on developing cross-Straits relations and promoting peaceful reunification "if only they accept the one-China principle and the '1992 Consensus' that embodies the one-China principle."

"This principle applies to any individuals or parties, no matter what they have said or done in the past," Li stressed when asked to comment on Taiwan Solidarity Union's recent expression of its intention to get engaged in cross-Straits affairs.

Source: Xinhua