Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Mr. Chairman,

At the instigation of the Taiwan authorities and in disregard of the UN Charter, the General Assembly resolution, principles of international law and the decision of the General Committee in the last five years, this year a handful of countries have once again raised the question of so-called "Taiwan's representation at the United Nations" in a brazen attempt to challenge General Assembly resolution 2758 (XXVI). The proposal, in essence, is part of the activities to split a sovereign state and create "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan" at the solemn organization of the United Nations. Such an illegal act constitutes a grave encroachment on China's sovereignty and brutal interference in China's internal affairs. It has trampled wantonly on the UN Charter, General Assembly resolution 2758 (XXVI) and principles of international law. The Chinese Government and people express strong indignation at and condemnation to such act. We are strongly opposed to inscribing item 166 of the draft agenda in the agenda of the 53rd Session of the General Assembly. We hope that the General Committee will continue to uphold justice, safeguard the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, General Assembly resolution 2758 (XXVI) as well as the principles of international law, and support the position of the Chinese Delegation.

Mr. Chairman,

It is known to all that Taiwan has been an inalienable part of China since ancient times. Both the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation reaffirmed China's sovereignty over Taiwan. To date, 162 countries have diplomatic relations with China. They all recognize that there is but one China in the world, the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing China in its entirety and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. Over the period of nearly five decades since the founding of the People's Republic of China, great changes have taken place both in the world situation and in China which includes Taiwan, in the social, economic, political and other aspects. However, no such change can alter the fact that Taiwan is a province of China and that China exercises sovereignty over Taiwan.

In 1971, the General Assembly at its 26th session adopted by an overwhelming majority the historically significant resolution 2758 (XXVI). In this resolution, the Assembly clearly and unequivocally recognized "that the representatives of the government of the People's Republic of China are the only lawful representatives of China to the United Nations and that the People's Republic of China is one of the five permanent representatives of the Security Council" and decided to restore all rights of the People's Republic of China in the Untied Nations and to expel immediately the representatives of Taiwan "from the place which they unlawfully occupy at the United Nations and in all the organizations related to it." In the resolution, the Assembly reaffirmed the "one China" principle in an exact and holistic manner. It decided resolutely to restore the lawful seat of the People's Republic of China at the United Nations and in the same resolute manner to expel the Taiwan authorities from the United Nations. These are two indivisible aspects of one question. Without expelling the Taiwan authorities from the United Nations, it would have been impossible to resolve properly China's representation at the United Nations. Only in this way could the resolution give, as it did perfectly, concrete expression to the "one China" principle. It has settled once and for all and in a just and comprehensive manner the question of China's representation at the United Nations. It has conformed to the historical trend and reflected the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations. It is of great historical and practical significance and has won the support of an overwhelming majority of Member States of the United Nations. However, the question of the so-called "Taiwan's representation at the United Nations" is put forward to dissect resolution 2758 (XXVI) so as to strip the resolution of its essence, negate the "one China" principle and create "two Chinas" and "one China, one Taiwan". Such act goes against the general wish of the Member States and is doomed to failure.

The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization composed of sovereign states. Article 4 of the Charter of the United Nations stipulates expressly that only sovereign states are entitled to membership in the United Nations. Taiwan, as a province of China, is in no position to join the United Nations. Meanwhile, according to principles of international law, the sovereignty of a State is indivisible. The Government of the People's Republic of China naturally represents, in the United Nations and its agencies, the Chinese people as a whole, including the Taiwan compatriots. There does not exist the so-called question of "Taiwan's representation at the United Nations". The question of Taiwan, by nature, bears no analogy to the cases of Germany and Korea resulting from the international agreements following the end of World War II. Therefore, the so-called principle of parallel representation can not apply to Taiwan. General Assembly resolution 2758 (XXVI) conforms to the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law and above all, reflects the actual situation in China. In their attempt to challenge the resolution, the handful of countries have naturally met with strong opposition from the vast number of justice-upholding Member States of the United Nations.

Mr. Chairman,

The question of Taiwan is purely an internal matter of China and a matter for the Chinese people themselves that brooks no interference by any country or individual in any way under whatever pretext. The settlement of the question of Taiwan and the reunification of the motherland are the solemn and lofty missions of all the Chinese people, including those on Taiwan. As early as over a decade ago, on behalf of the Chinese Government, Mr. Deng Xiaoping proposed the fundamental policy of "peaceful reunification and one country, two systems" for the settlement of the Taiwan question. On 1 July last year, the concept of "one country, two systems" first materialized in Hong Kong and tremendous success has been achieved ever since. On 20 December 1999, China will resume its exercise of sovereignty over Macao. The Taiwan question will also be resolved. It is only a matter of when, and it will not drag on for too long. In recent years, with the joint efforts of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, marked progress has been made in the people-to-people exchanges between the two sides. Indirect trade has been growing rapidly every year and the investment in the mainland by Taiwan business people has increased steadily. The exchange of personnel visits between the two sides has surpassed 12 million persons/times in total. The contacts and exchanges in the cultural, academic, sports, scientific and technological, and journalistic fields have been expanding vigorously. Progress has also been made in the postal and transport services between the two sides. The economic, trade and cultural exchanges between people on the two sides of the Strait are closer than ever, which have greatly deepened their mutual understanding and fraternal feeling. Raising the question of the so-called "Taiwan's membership at the United Nations" under such circumstances, the handful of countries are only moving to severely sabotage the process of the peaceful reunification of China.

No one in the world is more concerned about the interests and future of the 21.8 million Taiwan compatriots than the Chinese Government and people. Under the guidance of the Government policy of "peaceful reunification and one country, two systems" and the eight-point proposal of President Jiang Zemin on developing cross-Strait relations and promoting peaceful reunification of the country, the various departments of the Chinese Government have always cared for the Taiwan compatriots and taken policy measures to look after their interests. Chinese diplomatic missions have always worked to protect the interests of overseas Chinese, including the Taiwan compatriots. Their efforts have been highly commended by the Taiwan compatriots. Needless to say, the fundamental guarantee of the dignity and interests of the Taiwan compatriots lies in the reunification of the country.

Mr. Chairman,

Mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-interference in each other's internal affairs are the important basis for state-to-state relations and cooperation and part and parcel of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. China attaches importance to developing relations with all the Member States of the United Nations, including those that do not have diplomatic relations with China and is ready to work for friendly relations and cooperation with all countries in the world on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence. There are no conflicting fundamental interests between China and countries raising the so-called question of "Taiwan's representation at the United Nations", and China has never done anything detrimental to the interests of those countries. Those countries, however, have severely damaged China's fundamental interest and hurt the feelings of the 1.2 billion Chinese people by supporting the splittist activities of the Taiwan authorities. We hope that they will no longer be taken advantage of by the Taiwan authorities and will stop supporting the Taiwan authorities' activities of creating "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan". We hope they will withdraw their proposal and return to the principles of the UN Charter and relevant General Assembly resolution. We hope they will get back on the basis for normal relations between UN Member States and join the overwhelming majority of Member States in safeguarding the authority of the UN Charter, relevant General Assembly resolution and norms of international law. This is an incumbent responsibility for all UN Member States.

Mr. Chairman,

The firm position of the Chinese Government and people to safeguard their sovereignty and territorial integrity has the support of vast majority of countries. The General Committee has, for five years in a roll since 1993, refused to put the so-called question of "Taiwan's representation at the United Nations" in the agenda of the General Assembly. This has fully demonstrated the strong resolve of the vast number of UN Member States to safeguard the authority of the Charter and General Assembly resolution 2758 (XXVI). The Chinese Government and people wish to express their sincere thanks and pay tribute to those justice-upholding countries. We believe that the General Committee of the 53rd Session of the General Assembly will do the same and refuse in no ambiguous language to inscribe the so-called question of "Taiwan's representation at the United Nations" in the agenda of the General Assembly.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.