Premier Wen Jiabao accused Taiwan's leaders of attempting to use democratic practices like the upcoming so called referendum as a cover to achieve independence.

　　Wen was asked to comment on the referendum which Taiwan's leader Chen Shui-bian said he will call on March 20 so the Taiwanese people can vote on whether to formally demand that China remove hundreds of missiles "aimed at the island."

　　Standing beside UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan after a meeting at UN headquarters on Sunday, the Chinese premier reiterated that the peaceful reunification of Taiwan and the Chinese mainland under the "one country, two systems" principle remains the basis for settling the Taiwan issue.

　　"The Chinese government also understands the aspiration of people in Taiwan for democracy," Wen said. "However, the essence of the problem now is that the separatist forces within the Taiwan authorities attempt to use democracy only as a cover to split Taiwan away from China and this is what we will never tolerate."

　　"So long as there is still a glimmer of hope," Wen said, "the Chinese government will not give up its efforts for peaceful reunification and for a peaceful settlement of the question.""We believe this will serve the interests of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. This will also be conducive to peace and stability in Asia-Pacific and the world at large," he said.Wen said he greatly appreciated Annan's reiteration during their 50-minute closed-door meeting of the United Nations' adherence to "the one-China policy."

　　Annan, responding to a question about the Taiwan referendum, added that the United Nations also supports "the approach that all differences will be settled politically and peacefully without any resort to any violence."

　　China has also been in the forefront of efforts to arrange a new round of six-party talks on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's nuclear weapons programs and Wen and Annan said that issue was on their agenda along with Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, UN reform, fighting poverty in Africa, and combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

　　Wen said he believes the US and DPRK positions "are getting closer" and he still hopes a new round of talks can take place before the end of the year.

　　Wen said that in the six-party talks it will be "useful to reflect the consensus reached among parties in a document, and use that document to push for further progress in the process.""The DPRK has made it very clear that it is not their objective to possess nuclear weapons," Wen said. "The US side has also said on many occasions that it has no intention to invade or change the current regime in North Korea. So I think the positions of the two parties are getting closer," he said.

　　Yesterday, the Chinese premier rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, met with business and New York City leaders later and attended a luncheon hosted by the American Bankers Association.