The attempts of "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces to deny the reality that the mainland and Taiwan belong to one and the same China and to undermine peace in the Taiwan Straits are doomed to fail, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said here Wednesday.

Wen made the remarks while delivering a report on the work of his cabinet at the opening meeting of the annual full session of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature.

"We firmly oppose 'Taiwan independence' secessionist activities, and will never allow anyone to separate Taiwan from the motherland in any guise or by any means," Wen said, winning applauses from nearly 3,000 national legislators and more than 2,000 political advisors in the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing.

"Any issue that concerns China's sovereignty and territorial integrity must be decided by all the Chinese people, including our Taiwan compatriots," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 5, 2008)