The overseas Chinese community in Kenya has expressed their firm support of the one-China principle and opposition of any attempts to separate Taiwan from China.

"Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. Any attempts to promote 'Taiwan independence' and exploit Taiwan to contain China will seriously harm the well-being of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and peace and stability in the region," said a joint statement from the overseas Chinese community released in a meeting on Monday in Nairobi, capital of Kenya.

The statement was released following the new Taiwan administrative head Lai Ching-te's inauguration speech in Taipei on Monday, which promoted Taiwan independence.

The overseas Chinese in Kenya calls for the new leader of Taiwan to admit the fact that Taiwan is part of China and follow a path of peace for the wellbeing of Chinese both in Taiwan and on the Chinese mainland, according to the statement.

Miao Miao, counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, while attending the meeting, said that the one-China principle is a common consensus of the international community and the political basis and prerequisite for China to develop relations with other countries. The one-China principle also stands key to maintain the peace of the Taiwan Strait, she said.

In October 1971, the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 2758, which restored all rights to the People's Republic of China, recognizing it as the sole legal representative of China at the UN. The resolution has since been followed by the vast majority of the international community. As of present, 183 countries have established relations with China on the basis of one-China principle, Miao said.

"The Taiwan question is China's internal affair. Complete reunification is a historic trend that no forces can resist," Miao said.

Gao Wei, chairman of China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification in Kenya, said: "Our compatriots share the same blood and cultural origin. We are all descendants of the Chinese nation. Peaceful reunification is not only the common aspiration of the Chinese nation, it is also in the common interests of compatriots on both sides of the Strait."

Gao also called for intensified economic cooperation and exchanges between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan as a means to promote integration and peaceful reunification of China.

wangxiaodong@chinadaily.com.cn