The Taiwan authorities' referendum plan for UN membership has met with increasing opposition from overseas Chinese, who are acting in unity to block the attempt to split Taiwan from China.

In their joint manifesto, the Chinese Americans in the Greater Chicago Region said, "It is an international reality that there is no viability for the so-called Taiwan independence movement."

"Taiwan's Chen Shui-bian and company, dogged by scandals, however, have chosen to purposely ignore realism, challenge Beijing's tolerance and military resolve, continue to deceive Taiwan people and mislead them toward the abyss of war," said the statement.

"Chen's dangerous games of seeking secession from China have been a joke in international community ... A disenchanted U.S. has finally realized Chen's overt and dangerous intentions and has tried to curb his ambition," the statement said.

In an interview with Hong Kong's Phoenix TV last month, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte warned against Taiwan's "provocative" referendum. In addition, White House National Security Council senior director for Asian affairs Dennis Wilder has also categorically ruled out Taiwan as a nation.

On Sept. 11, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas J. Christensen described the referendum as "ill-conceived and potentially quite harmful," urging Taiwan's "perceptive and intelligent citizens" to "make a sound judgment."

In July, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon rejected Taiwan's application for UN membership. Earlier in April, Chen also lost his bid to join the World Health Organization, the statement said.

Representatives of overseas Chinese in New Zealand's largest city of Auckland gathered Sunday to voice their strong condemnation of the Taiwan authorities' proposed referendum on UN membership in the name of Taiwan.

Chen Shui-bian's secessionist attempt is in total disregard of the interests of Taiwan's 23 million residents, said Huang Weizhang, chairman of the Council for the Promotion of China's Peaceful Reunification in New Zealand.

About 300 representatives from more than 20 local Chinese organizations attended the gathering.

There is only one China in the world, and both the mainland and Taiwan belong to that China, said a statement read out by Huang on behalf of local Chinese in Auckland.

China's sovereignty and territorial integrity brook no division, and Taiwan, which is part of China, has no qualification whatsoever to join the United Nations under any name, said the statement.

The representatives also pointed out that the Taiwan authorities' push for UN membership through a referendum is an insidious attempt to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait and realize "de jure independence of Taiwan."

Chen's referendum plan is designed to cover up his corrupt deeds and incompetence, and the move poses a grave threat not only to the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation but also to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, they added.

They pledged to join hands with overseas Chinese around the world in supporting the Chinese government's efforts to halt the Taiwan authorities' dangerous moves.

Reiterating firm support for the New Zealand government's one-China policy, they said they will do everything to lay bare the true nature of the referendum plan and its great harm to peace and stability in the region.

In Italy, overseas Chinese also lashed out at the Taiwan authorities' proposed referendum Monday, saying any attempt to split the island from China is doomed to fail.

The condemnation was issued in a statement during a symposium of local Chinese in the northern Italian city of Milan, attended by Chinese Consul General Zhang Limin.

The statement said Taiwan is an inseparable part of China's territory. The referendum on Taiwan's bid to seek UN membership has harmed the situation across the Taiwan Strait, threatened peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and hurt the feelings of Chinese people, both at home and abroad.

Overseas Chinese across the world condemn this separatist act and oppose in the strongest terms any attempt at "Taiwan independence," the statement said.

It urged the Taiwan authorities to make a sober assessment of the situation and immediately stop all separatist acts.

Editor: Donald