BEIJING, June 29 (Xinhuanet) -- A Chinese central government spokesman said here on Wednesday 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.

   Li also reiterated 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.

New Party delegation to visit mainland

   Li announced that The New Party in Taiwan will send a delegation to visit the mainland from July 6 to 13. The visit is to mark 60th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. 

    According to Li, the delegation will visit the cities of Guangzhou, Nanjing, Dalian and Beijing. In Guangzhou, the delegation will pay tribute to the Huanghuagang 72 Martyrs' Tombs, where 72 people killed in an abortive uprising to overthrow the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) were honored.

    In Nanjing, the delegation will pay tribute to the Mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, forerunner of China's democratic revolution, and visit the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre conducted by Japanese invading troops in World War II. In Beijing, the delegation will visit the Memorial Hall of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and have discussions with mainland scholars in a symposium.

Call for lifing ban on mainland reporters

    The spokesman also urged Taiwan authorities to lift a ban on the normal journalistic operations of reporters of Xinhua News Agency and People's Daily, two leading news organizations on the mainland.

    The Taiwan authorities suspended the two news organizations' right to send correspondents to Taiwan to cover local news in late March, with no justifiable reasons. Such practice has come under criticism from media organizations on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, some of which even called it an action of "turning back the clock in cross-Straits exchanges."

 Labor service talks

    The mainland suggested on Wednesday that fishery groups across the Taiwan Straits hold talks on improving and regulating fishery labor service cooperation.

    "Thanks to the efforts of various sides, the time has been generally ripe for resuming cross-Straits fishery labor service cooperation," said Tang Wei, deputy director of the Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Department of the Ministry of Commerce, at the press conference. Enditem