TAIPEI, Feb 1: Taiwanese Premier Lien Chan vowed today to take more steps to promote the island's international standing, urging Beijing to face the reality that Taiwan is a Sovereign state, reports AFP.

Lien also pledged to strengthen exchanges with Hong Kong after the former British colony reverts to Chinese rule on July 1. with the hopes of improving cross-strait relations.

"We must break the diplomatic isolation imposed by Beijing ... we must not let the world listen to China's onesided claims that Taiwan is part of its territory." Lien told a press conference.

"It might be difficult.” he said, "but we urge the Chinese communists to treat Taiwan with peace, equality, reason and reciprocity."

"China must learn to face the reality that the two sides have been governed separately since 1949 and that we are a sovereign state". Lien said Tai wanese President Lee Teng Hi. himself and other high-ranking officials would continue making overseas visits to boost the island’s international pro file despite Beljings protests

China has considered the island a renegade province since It drove nationalist forces

here in 1949 at the end of a civil war.

AP adds: China accused Taiwan Saturday of "going too far down the path of independence" by planning to dismantle its provincial-level government.

The state-run Xinhua News Agency, quoting an unnamed spokesman for the Communist Party's Taiwan Affairs Office, said that "separatist forces" on Taiwan were trying to deny that the island is a province of China.

Divided since a civil war in 1949. the Communists on the mainland and the Nationalists on Taiwan have largely agreed that both sides will eventually reunify. The Nationalists maintained a separate provincial government for Taiwan to prop up the goal they would one day return to rule the mainland.

But nearly a decade of sweep Ing democratic change has caused many Taiwanese to question reunification, and in December the Nationalists pro posed scrapping provincial institutions tnat overlap with the national government they run

"This signals that the Tai wan authorities are further de viating from the One China principle and refusing reunifi cation Xinhua quoted the Communist Party spokesman as saying.

The spokesman said the move wifi surely" cause rela tions to deteriorate and con firmed suspicions Taiwan was going too far down the path of Independence