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ONLY UNSC, GENERAL ASSEMBLY ENTITLED TO ADDRESS U.N. BID: PRESIDENT

ROC Central News Agency

2007-07-24 21:17:13

    Taipei, July 24 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian said Tuesday that only the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) and the U.N. General Assembly are entitled to deal with Taiwan's request to join the world body under the name of Taiwan.

    Chen made the remarks during a meeting with Paraguayan Foreign Affairs Minister Ruben Dario Ramirez Lezcano, who arrived in Taiwan Monday for a five-day visit. He was complaining about a U.N. Secretariat decision to reject Taiwan's application for membership of the world body.

    The people of Taiwan should not be deprived of their right to participate in the United Nations and the World Health Organization, Chen told his guest, adding that his administration will not be daunted by the failure and will redouble its efforts to push for the nation's entry into the world body.

    Meanwhile, Lee Nan-yang, director of the Department of Public Affairs under the Presidential Office issued a declaration calling for the United Nations to pragmatically handle Taiwan's request under the principle of "universality of membership" as stipulated in the U.N. Charter.

    The U.N. Secretariat should refer Taiwan's request to the Security Council for discussion in accordance with Article IV of the U.N. Charter and relevant U.N. rules of procedure, according to Lee. He also said that the Secretariat is not in a position to reject Taiwan's request by quoting Resolution No.2758 adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 1971, and said Taiwan will not accept its "unfair and unreasonable treatment."

    Describing the request to join the U.N. under the name of Taiwan as a concrete demonstration of Taiwanese identity and mainstream public opinion, Lee said the government has adopted countermeasures to cope with various adversities and challenges.

    To safeguard Taiwan's dignity as well as the rights and interests of its people, the government will persist in its goal of obtaining U.N. membership, Lee said. He also called for the international community to support Taiwan's U.N. bid.

(By Luis Huang)

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