A Chinese mainland official has lashed out at Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian's "Taiwan independence" remarks made on Saturday (Sep 15).

During a rally on Saturday, Chen feverishly whipped up support for his "referendum" plan on the island's entry into the United Nations, and told the lie of "Taiwan being a sovereign state."

"The situation of the rally shows that Chen's 'referendum' plan fails to get support from the masses," a spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said in Beijing Sunday.

The issue, however, keeps developing. And "we will keep a close watch over developments on the other side of the Strait and has got prepared to cope with serious situations," said the spokesman.

Taiwan authorities sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in July, raising an application to join the United Nations in the name of "Taiwan." Meanwhile, Chen Shui-bian has been pushing for a plan to hold a "referendum" inside Taiwan on its entry to the United Nations.

Chen's "referendum" plan has been strongly opposed and seriously denounced by compatriots across the Taiwan Strait and international community.

The plan was just a method for Chen to seek personal interests, said the spokesman, noting that the move was made "at the cost of jeopardizing cross-Strait peace and stability and the fundamental interests of the Taiwan people."

The spokesman said the mainland has been endeavoring to improve cross-Strait relations with the utmost effort, but will never allow any people to separate Taiwan from the motherland in any manner.

Editor: Wing