Taiwan's Bid for UN Membership as an Independent Country Fails

On Tuesday, the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the U.S. said in a news statement that Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian's attempts to get Taiwan admitted to the United Nations as an independent country was nothing more than a secessionist scheme that will not prevail.

Although there have been years of unrest and tension between China mainland and the island of Taiwan, virtually all countries recognize the People's Republic of China as the official government of both China and Taiwan. However, in 2007 Chen Shui-bian was elected Taiwan's president, and rumblings of wanting independence and secession from China are in the air. Chinese government officials were opposed to Chen's election and his party's calls for independence.

Therefore, it was with pleasure the Chinese government learned that the UN Office of Legal Affairs rejected Taiwan's July 19 application for UN membership. According to the news release, a spokesperson for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the rejection was in keeping with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, which says the UN abides by what is called the "one-China" policy.

Following the rejection, a joint statement was issued by the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council. In their statement the Offices say the UN's action proves "the international community recognizes that there is only one China and Taiwan is part of China. The secessionist move of applying for UN membership under the name of Taiwan will not change the fact that Taiwan is part of China, nor will it change Taiwan's international status."

The Offices said China's 1.3 billion people are the ones to make decisions about the country's sovereignty, not residents or leaders on the island of Taiwan. "This is an issue of basic principle and we leave no room for compromise," the Offices' statement said. "We remain committed to pushing cross-Strait relations toward peace and stability, but we are also prepared to curb all adventures aimed at 'Taiwan independence'."

According to the news release, the statement went on to say that Chen Shui-bian and his followers will be responsible for whatever consequences result from their rejection of the position of the international community and continuing pressing for "Taiwan independence."

The Offices minced no words in calling Chen Shui-bian a "schemer" for pursuing UN membership under the country's own name, Taiwan, stating that Chen had asked his subordinates to state Taiwan was an independent sovereign state and had never been part of China.

The news release quotes the strong language in the Offices' statement: "With 2008 Taiwan leadership election coming, Chen continues his secessionist provocation for the sake of himself and his party, regardless of the interests of 23 million Taiwan compatriots. Chen is a complete schemer and saboteur who would not hesitate to sacrifice peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the Asia-Pacific region."

Source:

News release, "Taiwan independence" provocation doomed to fail;" http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/xw/t344063.htm