Taiwan Renews UN Membership Bid
01 August 2007
Taiwan's president has renewed its bid to join the United Nations, sending two more letters to leaders of the world body.
A spokesman for President Chen Shui-bian says letters were delivered Wednesday, to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and to China's U.N. representative.
Last week, the secretary-general's office rejected Taiwan's application for membership before it was discussed by the General Assembly. The office said that a 1971 U.N. resolution bars Taiwan from having separate membership in the world body.
Mr. Chen responded by saying that no individual, including the secretary-general, has the right to rule on Taiwan's application. He vowed to continue to promote the island's bid and demand that it be discussed by the General Assembly and U.N. Security Council.
Taiwan, officially known as the "Republic of China," lost its U.N. seat to China in 1971.
Every bid that Taiwan has made to join the U.N., starting in 1993, has been rejected. This is the first year it has applied under the name Taiwan instead of the R.O.C.
China claims the self-governed island is part of its own territory and that it is unnecessary for it to join the world body.
China has kept Taiwan out of most world bodies that require statehood as a condition for membership, including the World Health Organization.
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