Taiwan authorities last month adopted a resolution that requires the island's National Palace Museum to remove all labels that identify exhibits as from the Chinese mainland.

The authorities also called for revision of history textbooks, replacing all terms such as "our country" and "mainland" with the word "China."

Yang Yi, spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said the mainland has noticed the moves, and believed the actual political motive was a move to "Taiwan independence" education.

A resolution was adopted by Taiwan's Executive Yuan on January 17, banning the National Palace Museum from identifying its exhibits as transported from the Imperial Palace in Beijing.

Under the resolution, the task of the museum will be "the collection, study and expatiation of domestic and foreign antiques and art pieces," instead of "the collection, study and expatiation of ancient Chinese art."

First opened in 1965, the National Palace Museum in Taipei houses 654,500 art works and artifacts that were shipped from Beijing (then called Beiping) to Taiwan in 1949 during nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek's retreat to the island.

Mainland scholars have condemned the change, saying the revised regulation ignores historic fact and is just another attempt to cut Taiwan's links to the mainland.

"Regulations can be changed, but history cannot," said Liang Jinsheng, a researcher with the Palace Museum in Beijing.

Meanwhile, Yang said yesterday the mainland "had noticed" media reports saying the former pro-independence leader of the island, Lee Tung-hui, was looking forward to visiting the mainland.

Yang had no other comment at a press conference on the mainland's attitude towards Lee's plan.

Senior Kuomintang official Wang Jin-pyng was also reported to be planning a mainland visit after the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on February 18. Wang is president of the "Legislative Yuan" of Taiwan, or the island's top legislature.

"We are willing to communicate with any individual or group from Taiwan, as long as they uphold the 'one-China' principle, Yang said.

In other Taiwan news, the Chinese mainland and Taiwan have returned to each other 37,790 criminals, criminal suspects and people guilty of illegal entry since 1990, Yang said yesterday.

"Among the total, 266 were handed over by the Chinese mainland to Taiwan," Yang said.

On preparations for the coming Lunar New Year, aviation officials report the 96 round trip charter flights scheduled for the holiday between Taiwan and the mainland have been sold out. The number of round trips by 12 airlines represent an increase of 24 trips over a year ago.