China expressed strong opposition to the United States House of Representatives' passage of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2006 and 2007, saying it violates Sino-US agreements and will poison Washington-Beijing ties.

According to the bill, the Department of State "should facilitate high level meetings between" high level officials of Taiwan including "president," "vice-president," "foreign minister" and "defence minister" and their counterparts in the United States.

The Chinese foreign ministry said in a press release on Friday that the bill's passage severely violates the basic principles of international relations and agreements between the two countries.

Calling the China-related sections of the bill "a gross interference in China's internal affairs," the ministry's spokesman Kong Quan said in the press release that China urged the US Government to prevent congress from passing the act.

The House of Representatives passed the appropriations for the Department of State for fiscal years 2006 and 2007 last Thursday.

The act, which will go to the Senate for a round of deliberation, hurts China-US relations and send "wrong signals" to those "Taiwan 'independence' secessionist forces," said Kong, adding it is a betrayal of the US stance of one-China policy.

"The Chinese Government opposes any form of official contact between Taiwan and the United States," Kong said.

He said that if the act became law, it would cause "serious damage" to the relationship across the Taiwan Straits, the peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and Sino-US ties.

(China Daily July 30, 2005)