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Taiwan submits second membership application to United Nations

ROC Central News Agency

2007-08-01 19:10:48

Taipei, Aug. 1 (CNA) Taiwan has submitted a second membership application to the United Nations after the first one was rejected by the U.N. Secretariat, a Presidential Office official said Wednesday.

The application was delivered to the United Nations July 31 through the Solomon Islands' and Swaziland's permanent representatives to the world body, said Lee Nan-yang, director of the Presidential Office's department of public affairs.

It was included in two letters dated July 27 and signed by President Chen Shui-bian, which were addressed separately to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and Wang Guangya, rotating president of the U.N. Security Council for July and China's permanent representative to the United Nations, Lee said.

Lee noted that this marks the first time the president has written to the Security Council, in what he said is a move aimed at facilitating the discussion of cross-Taiwan Strait issues on the U.N. platform.

According to Lee, while China has repeatedly labeled Taiwan's efforts to deepen its democratic development as moves toward de jure independence, Beijing is trying to achieve de jure unification through the enactment of its Anti-Secession Law and what Taiwan claims is "misrepresentation" of U.N. Resolution 2758.

Under the circumstances, Taiwan must make sure its membership application is fully discussed on every possible occasion prior to the opening of next month's annual session of the U.N. General Assembly, to "correct international misperceptions" of Resolution 2758, Lee said.

The U.N. Secretariat rejected Taiwan's first membership application July 23 based on the resolution, which was adopted by the General Assembly in 1971 recognizing the representatives of the People's Republic of China government as "the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations" and expelling representatives of the Republic of China.

Responding to a question on the issue by a CNA reporter last week, Ban pointed out that U.N. membership is only granted to sovereign countries and that the position of the United Nations is that Taiwan is part of China.

In the latest letter to Ban, Chen said that Resolution 2758 neither grants China the right to represent Taiwan at the United Nations, nor states that Taiwan is either a part of China or the People's Republic of China.

Chen said that Taiwan is an independent sovereign nation and that its people have the right to participate in the United Nations.

In addition, he urged Ban to process Taiwan's application according to due procedure, because only the Security Council and the General Assembly have the authority to review and decide on membership applications.

(By Y.F. Low)

ENDITEM/J