Taipei
China plans to ask UN members to vote on whether Taiwan is part of
China to block the breakaway island from seeking to join the world
body, a newspaper said Sunday.
The United Daily News quoted The Nelson Report, a daily newsletter
on policy issues in Washington, as saying that the US was shocked
when Taiwan recently applied to join the UN, a bid that was rejected
by the world body after interpreting Resolution 2758 as a ruling
that the island is part of the People's Republic of China.
Washington is worried that China may ask UN members to cast a vote
on whether Taiwan is part of China. That would put the US in an
awkward position, because Washington will be asked to clarify its
stance on Taiwan.
The US switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979
but it signed the Taiwan Relations Act, pledging to continue to sell
defensive arms to Taiwan.
Since then, the US has maintained an ambiguous stance on Taiwan,
neither supporting nor opposing Taiwan independence but leaving it
as a matter for peaceful resolution.
The dispute over Taiwan's UN seat dates to the Chinese Civil War
that ended in 1949 when the victorious Communists founded the
People's Republic of China (PRC) on the mainland, forcing the
Republic of China (ROC) government to move its seat to Taiwan.
The international community, refusing to recognise the PRC as the
legitimate Chinese government, allowed the exiled ROC government to
keep China's seat at the UN.
In 1971, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 2758, accepting
the PRC and expelling the ROC, or the Taiwan government.
Since 1993, Taiwan has tried to rejoin the UN under its official
name as the Republic of China. After failing annually, this year
Taiwan decided to apply for UN membership as Taiwan.
President Chen Shui-bian has sent two letters to UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon requesting UN membership for Taiwan. Ban ignored
the letters, saying the UN abides by Resolution 2758, which says
that Taiwan is part of China.
Chen argued that Resolution 2758 has solved the problem of China's
representation but leaves unresolved Taiwan's representation in the
UN.
Chen claimed that Taiwan is a sovereign nation, currently recognised
by 24 countries.
Taiwan's move is unlikely to succeed in the near future, as the
overwhelming majority of the 192 UN member countries have diplomatic
ties with China and accept its claim to the island. China is also
one of the five veto-wielding permanent members of the UN Security
Council.
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