By DPA
New York/Taipei : The United Nations has rejected the 15th consecutive annual bid by Taiwan to join the world organisation, in a proposal opposed by China and which UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called an illegal move.
A committee charged with setting up the agenda for the 62nd UN General Assembly Wednesday rejected a proposal by 16 of Taiwan’s 24 diplomatic allies to include a demand that Taiwan’s UN admission request be discussed by the UN Security Council, the highest political body.
Attending the closed-door session of the General Committee at UN headquarters in New York was Chinese Ambassador Wang Guangya, whose country has strongly opposed Taiwan’s bid.
“As a region of China, Taiwan is not entitled to apply for UN membership in whatever name,” he said. “No sovereign state in the world, including the co-sponsors, would allow one of its regions to apply for UN membership.”
Wang’s remarks may be disputed by the Taiwanese government, which considers itself independent and sovereign.
Taiwan has rejected a statement made by Ban Tuesday, who said China is the “only legitimate representative” and Taiwanese requests for admission lacked a legal basis.
UN General Assembly resolutions are generally considered not binding on its members, but Resolution 2758 of 1971, which expelled Taiwan in favour of China, was binding.
“The matter was very carefully considered by the (UN) secretariat, and in light of Resolution 2758, it was not legally possible to receive the purported application (from Taiwan) for membership,” Ban said. He said UN members needed to discuss the case, not him.
Wang’s speech to the General Committee reiterated China’s long-standing policy that the issue of Taiwan is “purely an internal affair of China”. Taiwan has rejected the contention that it is a region of China and has declared itself an independent and sovereign nation.
“The Chinese government highly appreciates the right position adopted by the UN and the vast number of member states in adhering to the one-China principle,” Wang said.
During the closed-door meeting, Wang and an Egyptian diplomat demanded rejection of the Taiwanese request while envoys from the Solomon Island and St. Kitts and Nevis spoke in favour. Wang’s speech was obtained by DPA in New York.
After losing the fight in the General Committee, Taiwan’s allies said they would take the case to the General Assembly, which will begin next week a round of political speeches by government leaders. But like in previous years, the case will die down in speeches as the assembly is not expected to act on the demands by the Taiwanese allies.
Taipei is expected to make a formal response to the General Assembly’s decision Thursday.
In Taipei, Vice President Annette Lu, anticipating another failure at the UN General Assembly, Wednesday told the 23 million Taiwanese to persevere in their fight for UN membership.
“We failed in previous years because we applied to join the UN under the name of Republic of China (ROC), Taiwan’s formal title. This year we applied to join under the name of Taiwan,” she said at a Taiwan business meeting.
Lu said that China and the US have opposed Taiwan’s newest UN strategy because they suspect Taiwan is moving towards independence, “but we must move in this direction” of seeking membership.
“It took South Korea and North Korea 15 years before they joined the UN,” she said. “President Chen Shui-bian has fought so hard for Taiwan’s UN admission. So I hope our people should unite in our fight for Taiwan to join the UN.”
Taiwan was ousted from the UN in 1971 where it had occupied China’s seat since the establishment of the world organisation in 1945. The seat was then given to the People’s Republic of China, the communist government in Beijing that defeated nationalist troops and drove them to the island of Taiwan in 1949.
Taiwan has been trying since 1993 to rejoin the UN and this year applied for membership under the name of Taiwan instead of Republic of China to distinguish itself from the mainland.
Unlike China, which is recognised by more than 170 countries, Taiwan has diplomatic ties with only 24 mostly small and poor nations.
Taiwan’s UN bid seems futile because China is one of the five UN Security Council members and has the veto power to block Taiwan’s admission, but Taipei believes that if it applies as a new nation and keeps applying, it will one day succeed.