¡¡BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Overseas Chinese all over the world continued to voice their firm support for a statement issued late Sunday by the Taiwan Work Office of the Central Committee of Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council on the current relations across the Taiwan Straits.

    The British Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China said in a statement, issued Wednesday after a seminar held in London, that only by acknowledging and following the one-China principle, could the cross-Straits relations develop in a positive direction and could Taiwan improve its economic competitiveness.

    "Taiwan independence" is a dead end. Those who advocate "Taiwan independence" are playing with fire and will ultimately meet their destruction, said the statement.

    Taiwan authorities should wake up to the historical trend and common will of all the Chinese, including the 50 million overseas Chinese, to see Taiwan embraced in the arms of the motherland, it added.

    At a Tuesday seminar held in the Chinese Consulate General in New York, the participants warned Chen Shui-bian and the Democratic Progress Party authorities not to place personal and partisan interests above the interests of the whole Chinese nationand world peace. They urged Chen Shui-bian and the Democratic Progress Party authorities to return to the one-China stance.

    Chinese communities in Washington also held a seminar to express firm support for China's reunification cause.

    In Japan, three Chinese communities on Tuesday issued a joint statement protesting against any form of "Taiwan independence" activities. The Chinese government's statement reaffirmed the government's one-China stance seeking a peaceful reunification, the statement said.

    Chinese communities in Germany said in a statement issued on Tuesday that the Chinese government statement is very timely, clear-cut and strong and it expressed the common will of the overseas Chinese to solve the Taiwan issue at an earliest date. Taiwan is historically part of China's territory, and overseas Chinese will never allow anyone to separate it from the motherland,they said in the statement.

    The statement called on Chen Shui-bian to acknowledge the one-China principle, resume the cross-Straits dialogue and negotiations, officially end the antagonistic stance, and contribute to building a framework for peaceful and stable cross-Straits relations.

    Chinese communities in South Korea, Thailand, Mongolia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Brazil, Argentina, Mozambique, Madagascar and Cote d'Ivoire, have also issued statements voicing support for the seven points in the statement on improving the cross-Straits relations and urging Chen Shui-bianand his followers to abandon the stance of "Taiwan independence" and return to the one-China principle. Enditem