• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

President's letter to U.N. General Assembly will be returned: MOFA

ROC Central News Agency

2007-09-11 17:05:58

    Taipei, Sept. 11 (CNA) Taiwan has been informed that the United Nations will return a letter written recently by President Chen Shui-bian to explain Taiwan's view of U.N. General Assembly resolution 2758, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said Tuesday.

    MOFA spokesman Wang Chien-yeh said the ministry is not surprised at the outcome and will continue to push for the country's bid for U.N. membership under the name Taiwan.

    The letter, addressed to Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, president of the 61st session of the General Assembly, was delivered to the U.N. official through the U.N. permanent representative of the Marshall Islands a few days ago, MOFA officials said.

    Chen pointed out in the letter that Taiwan is not part of the People's Republic of China and that resolution 2758 does not deal with the U.N. representation of the Taiwanese people.

    However, a spokesman of Sheikha Haya's office notified the MOFA's U.N. task force in New York Monday that the letter will be returned, on the grounds that resolution 2758 recognizes the People's Republic of China as the "only legitimate representative of China" at the United Nations.

    Sheikha Haya was also cited as saying that the 61st session of the General Assembly cannot take action on the matter and that the General Committee is expected to made a decision on a motion put forward by Taiwan's diplomatic allies seeking to include the issue of Taiwan's U.N. membership application on the agenda of the 62nd session of the General Assembly set to open Sept. 18, according to MOFA officials.

    The motion, endorsed by 16 of Taiwan's diplomatic allies, requests that the Security Council process Taiwan's membership application according to established procedures.

    Chen sent a membership application letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon July 19, but the letter was returned based on U.N. Resolution 2758, which U.N. officials said is the basis of the "one China" policy of the United Nations.

    On July 31, Chen sent a second letter to Ban, urging him to reconsider his decision, and one to Wang Guangya, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, who served as rotating president of the Security Council for July. Both letters were also returned.

(By Y.F. Low)

ENDITEM/J