BEIJING (AP)--The government's top advisory body Saturday indicated no change in Chinese policies aimed at isolating Taiwan's new leader and snuffing out the outlawed Falun Gong meditation sect.
The Chinese People's Political Consultative Congress will deal only with people and groups in Taiwan that support unification with China, said the body's Chairman Ye Xuanping in an annual report.
Ye also pledged the body's backing for Beijing's strategy of punishing hard core Falun Gong followers while offering leniency to the rank and file in hopes of turning them against the group.
The opening of the CPPCC's session kicks off China's political high season and sets the tone for the meeting of the National People's Congress, China's legislature, that starts Monday and runs concurrently.
While largely powerless, the CPPCC helps the Communist Party rally support for its policies and connect with a broad sweep of society. Its 2,266 delegates are drawn from influential scientists, religious leaders, ethnic minorities, writers and others.
Ye's report appears to signal a continuance of China's strategy of refusing to engage with Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian. Since his election last spring, Chen has refused to accept China's preconditions for talks and says unification with the mainland is just one of many options for the island.
The CPPCC will "resolutely oppose any separatist attempts" while expanding contacts with pro-unification opposition parties, Ye told delegates assembled in Beijing's colossal Great Hall of The People.
China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949, and Beijing threatens to attack the island if it formally declares independence or stalls too long on unification.
Reiterating government statements issued after the crackdown on Falun Gong failed to end public protests by sect members, Ye warned the struggle against the group will be "complex, protracted and acute."
China banned Falun Gong in July 1999 as an "evil cult," and has relentlessly campaigned to break up its organization, imprison leaders and turn followers against its founder, former government clerk Li Hongzhi, now living in the U.S.
"We must support the government in bringing back, educating and redeeming the overwhelming majority of Falun Gong practitioners and severely dealing with a handful of criminals according to the law," Ye said.
During its 10-day session, the CPPCC plans to discuss and adopt proposals to the National People's Congress on China's tenth five-year plan for economic development and a range of social and economic issues.