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The army always stands ready to resolutely protect national unification and integrity of sovereignty and territory, a top general of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) said on Sunday.
Guo Boxiong, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, said that the PLA will accomplish its mission when the Party and people call on.
He made the remarks at a group discussion of the Army of Premier Wen Jiabao's government work report to the ongoing session of the National People's Congress.
Guo denounced that Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian's decision to stop the operation of the "National Unification Council" and the application of "National Unification Guidelines" last month, according to a Xinhua report.
Chen's act is a grave provocation to the one-China policy universally observed by the international community, threatening cross-Straits peace and stability, he said.
"We will continue to strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification, but we resolutely oppose 'Taiwan independence' and will never allow 'Taiwan independence' secessionist forces to secede Taiwan from the motherland under any name or by any means," Guo said.
Guo called on all the army officers and soldiers should make ample preparations for their holy mission. "When the Party and people call on us to fulfill our duty, we can live up to their expectations."
Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan said the PLA made great progress in the development of military mechanization and information technology during the 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-05). He said attention will be paid to the development of high-tech weapon equipments so as to adapt PLA to future military affairs.
"We also attach importance to foster persons with ability to effectively raise our officers and soldiers' competence and advance military construction," Xu Caihou, a member of the Central Military Commission added.
Despite strong opposition from people across the Taiwan Straits and the international community, Chen Shu-bian made the malevolent declaration on February 27 that the "National Unification Council" shall "cease to function" and the guidelines on unification shall also "cease to apply" which shows Chen's intention of seeking "Taiwan independence".
The council, established on October 7, 1990, is meant to "research and consult guidelines on unification" in order to advance the cross-Straits development and unification of the mainland.
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