General Assembly upholds decision to deny Taiwan UN membership
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — The UN General Assembly agreed by consensus Friday to uphold a decision by one of its committees to reject Taiwan's 15th consecutive annual bid for membership in the face of strong opposition from Beijing.
Backers of Taipei pushed for including on the agenda of the 192-member UN General Assembly's 62nd session a request that the powerful Security Council be urged "to process Taiwan's membership application".
The move was sponsored by Belize, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Honduras, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Pala, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sao Tome and Principe, Solomon Islands, Swaziland and Tuvalu.
But after a day-long debate in plenary session Friday, a consensus emerged among assembly members present in favor of backing the decision by the assembly's 22-member General Committee Wednesday not to put the membership issue on the agenda.
The president of the General Assembly presides over the General Committee, which also has 21 vice presidents, including representatives of the Security Council's five veto-wielding permanent members (Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States).
In his address to the assembly session Friday, China's UN Ambassador Wang Guangya forcefully reiterated his country's opposition to Taiwan's UN membership.
"The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization composed only of sovereign states," he noted. "As a region of China, Taiwan is not entitled to UN membership in whatever name. No sovereign state in the world, including the co-sponsors, would allow one of its regions (to) become a member of the United Nations."
Taiwan, under its official name Republic of China, lost its UN seat to China in 1971.
Taiwan's bids to rejoin the world body using its official title have been repeatedly shot down by Beijing.
Despite the setback, Taiwan, which is recognized by only 24 countries, pledged Thursday to press on with its diplomatic battle for a UN seat.
The sensitive issue is likely to flare up again soon with the government in Taiwan vowing to organize a referendum next year on UN membership despite the opposition of the US and Chinese presidents.
China and Taiwan split in 1949, but Beijing regards the island as part of Chinese territory awaiting reunification and has threatened invasion if Taipei formally declares independence.
