The Chinese Government on Thursday strongly condemned an 11th attempt by a
small number of countries to have the so-called issue of "Taiwan's
representation in the United Nations (UN)'' debated at the annual session of the
UN General Assembly.
China's new Ambassador to the UN Wang Guangya said in a letter he handed
personally to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan that the purpose of raising the
issue is "to create `two Chinas' or 'one China, one Taiwan' in this
organization.''
"It is not only a flagrant violation of the purposes and principles of the
Charter of the United Nations but also a brazen challenge to the one-China
principle widely recognized by the international community,'' Wang stressed.
Wang was responding to a request by Gambia and a few other countries to
include the "question of the representation of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in
the United Nations'' on the agenda of this year's General Assembly session. The
request was contained in a letter to Annan on Tuesday.
"The Chinese Government strongly condemns and firmly opposes such a gross
encroachment on China's internal affairs,'' Wang said.
"Taiwan has been an inseparable part of China's territory since antiquity,''
he noted. "Both the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation
reaffirmed in unequivocal terms China's sovereignty over Taiwan as a matter of
international law.''
"There is but one China in the world, both the mainland and Taiwan are part
of that one and same China, and China's sovereignty and territorial integrity
brook no division.''
To date, he said, more than 160 countries in the world have diplomatic
relations with China and they all recognize the one-China principle.
"This is a historical trend that cannot be resisted by anybody or any force.
It is an objective fact that cannot be changed by anybody,'' Wang added.
Wang recalled that as early as 1971, the 26th session of the UN General
Assembly (UNGA) "adopted, by an overwhelming majority, the historic UNGA
Resolution 2758, which has solved once and for all, in political, legal and
procedural terms, the issue of China's representation in the United Nations.''
Ever since the day when the legitimate rights of the People's Republic of
China (PRC) were restored at the UN, the PRC Government has attached great
importance to and worked to ensure the participation and enjoyment of the
benefit of UN activities by all Chinese including, naturally, those in Taiwan,
Wang said in his letter to Annan. While noting the United Nations is an
inter-governmental organization composed of sovereign states, Wang pointed out
that as part of China, Taiwan "is not eligible to participate, in whatever name
and under whatever pretext, in the work or activities of the United Nations or
its specialized agencies.''
Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan also expressed China's strong
indignation and resolute opposition on Friday the proposal for so-called "Taiwan
representation in the United Nations.''