China has rapped Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian's latest 'Taiwan independence' bid in his New Year address, vowing never to allow separation of the island from the mainland in 'any name or by any way'.

As the Chinese compatriots across the Taiwan Strait celebrated the New Year and anticipated peaceful and stable development of cross-Strait relations, Chen once again moved against the momentum and preached his secessionist ideas of 'Taiwan independence', a spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of China's State Council said in response to Chen's New Year address.

Chen intended to unreasonably restrict cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation, worsen the atmosphere of cross-Strait relations, ruin the peaceful and stable development of cross-Strait ties, and tear Taiwan society to pieces while creating conflicts, the spokesman said.

"Chen has no faith at all and spares no effort to make disturbances. We will wait and see how long he will move on the road of Taiwan independence," he said.

He pointed out that peace and stability should always be the main theme of cross-Strait relations and a common goal, which the compatriots from the mainland and Taiwan are struggling together to achieve.

He said the mainland has long been engaged in improving cross-Strait relationship and will never cease doing so.

"In the meantime, we will be highly vigilant to any secessionist moves and never allow secessionists to separate Taiwan from the motherland in any name or by any way," the official said.

Taiwan's independence-leaning president insisted in a New Year's message that the island's sovereignty lay in its own hands.

"Hereby we must stress that Taiwan is our country. Taiwan's sovereignty belongs to 23 million people. It definitely does not belong to the People's Republic of China," Chen said after a national flag-hoisting ceremony in Taipei.

"Only the 23 million have the right to decide on the future of Taiwan. Taiwan is part of the world but not part of China," Chen said.

China and Taiwan split in 1949 at the end of a civil war but Beijing still claims the self-ruled island as part its territory. China has repeatedly threatened to invade if Taiwan declares independence or drags its feet on reunification talks. Moreover, the Chinese parliament has also passed an Anti-cession Law in 2005 to foil Taiwan's bid to seek independence.

In his New Year message, Chinese President Hu Jintao said that the Chinese mainland will actively promote exchanges and cooperation across the Taiwan Strait, safeguard peace and stability, and push ahead with peaceful reunification.

He called on Chinese people around the world to join hands to oppose "Taiwan independence" and work for the ultimate reunification of the Chinese nation.

Hu said the mainland's Taiwan policy of peaceful reunification" and "one country, two systems" will not change.