A senior Greek diplomat on Wednesday strongly opposed and condemned Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian for his move to "cease the function" of Taiwan's National Unification Council and Guidelines on Unification.

 

Joannis Theophanopoulos, head of the Asian and Oceanian Department of the Greek Foreign Ministry, told Xinhua that Chen's act "destroyed the dialogue" between Taiwan and the mainland and "damaged the one-China policy."

 

"We strongly oppose the act of Chen and we strongly condemn the act," he said.

 

He stressed that Chen's move was "a surprise to the EU and Greece."

 

"We believe that this act can destabilize the status quo of the area, (so) we think it is a provocative act," he said.

 

The official said that destabilization of the area was "against the interests of the EU and Greece."

 

"We also believe that the unilateral act to change the status quo is against the interests of Taiwan," he added.

 

He called on Chen Shui-bian to stop his unilateral act and continue to honor his commitment of maintaining the status quo.

 

"We urge Chen to reconsider his decision," he said.

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 2, 2006)