China says Taiwan unfit to join United Nations

17 November 2004

BEIJING - Taiwan is unfit to join the United Nations and the latest move by President Chen Shui-bian to apply for membership is a sign of his separatist leanings, a Chinese government spokesman said on Wednesday.

China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province of “one China” that must sooner or later be reunified, by force if necessary. The two sides have been ideological foes since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.

Chen has pledged to seek U.N. membership using the name ”Taiwan” if his party wins a majority in next month’s legislative election. Taipei regularly uses its official title, the Republic of China, in efforts to join the United Nations.

“As a part of China, Taiwan does not have the status to join the United Nations, which is comprised only of sovereign nations. China’s right of representation at the United Nations includes Taiwan,” said Li Weiyi, spokesman for mainland’s the Taiwan Affairs Office, repeating an oft-stated line.

“Using the so-called name of ’Taiwan’ to apply to join the United Nations is another serious step by the Chen Shui-bian authorities pushing ... Taiwan separatist activities,” he told a news conference.

The Republic of China was kicked out of the United Nations in 1971, when the General Assembly adopted resolution 2758, which declared the People’s Republic of China “as the only legitimate representatives of China”.

Taipei’s U.N. bid has failed for 12 years as most countries support Beijing’s view that Taiwan is a province of China.

In campaigning for the Dec. 11 legislative elections, Chen told a rally late on Sunday it was a mistake for Taipei to use the name Republic of China in applying for a seat in the United Nations.

Tensions between China and Taiwan have been simmering since Chen’s re-election in March because Beijing is convinced he will push for formal statehood before his second term ends in 2008.

China has threatened to invade the island if that happens. Security analysts view the Taiwan Strait as among the most dangerous flashpoints in Asia.

Wang Zaixi, vice minister of China’s policy-making Taiwan Affairs Office, told Reuters in an interview on Monday that Taiwan was exploiting the mainland’s restraint and its focus on the economy and preparations for the 2008 Olympics.

“I think it is unavoidable tension will rise in the Taiwan Straits and there may even be armed conflict ... if the island keeps bumping Beijing’s ’one China’ bottom line and pushes for independence,” he said.