People from various circles of Beijing gathered Monday to discuss the recently-published White Paper on the issue of Taiwan, voicing their support for the "one China" principle.

About 100 representatives from the municipal committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the Taiwan Affairs Office, the municipal committee of the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League and others attended the forum. They held that the document was both timely and of great historic significance.

The one-China principle forms the foundation of the Chinese government's policy toward Taiwan and is the basis of the peaceful reunification of the motherland. It also marks a new beginning in the relaxation and development of cross-Straits relations and is the guarantee for the fundamental interests of the Taiwan compatriots, they said. The White Paper exposed and criticized the splittist attempts of Lee Teng-hui of Taiwan, and will help the Taiwan compatriots see through the lies of the island's separatist forces and make the wise decision on the future cross-Straits relations, they noted.

The Taiwan authorities should set greater store by the national interests and the happiness of the Taiwan compatriots, return to the one-China stand, not interfere with world peace and development, and ultimately be condemned by history, they said.