UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations yesterday blocked Taiwan's quest for membership in the world body for the 15th consecutive year, diplomats said.
A UN committee rejected a proposal - raised by the Solomon Islands and a very few other countries - to put the representation and participation of Taiwan in the United Nations on the agenda of the 62nd UN General Assembly session.
The assembly's General Committee, a panel on which all 192 UN members have a voice, made the decision in a closed meeting. The 62nd session officially opened on Tuesday.
"I think the outcome is good because the overwhelming majority of members of the committee support the one-China policy," Chinese Ambassador to the UN Wang Guangya told reporters.
Addressing the session, Wang said that there is but one China in the world and Taiwan has been an inalienable part of China since ancient times, a fact that has been recognized by the United Nations and the vast majority of countries around the world.
"The Taiwan question is purely an internal affair of China," Wang said. "It should be resolved by the Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits."
Taiwan, expelled from the world body in 1971, has made repeated efforts to get back in, and this year applied for the first time under the name Taiwan instead of "Republic of China".
Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian has also scheduled a referendum for March on the UN membership drive in a move that has caused tension with the United States as well.
Beijing considers the island's bid for UN membership a move toward "independence".
A spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said on Sunday that "we will keep a close watch over developments on the other side of the Straits and are prepared to cope with any serious situation."
Source: China Daily
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article