The Chinese Government on Thursday strongly condemned an 11th attempt by a small number of countries to have the so-called issue of "Taiwan's representation in the United Nations (UN)'' debated at the annual session of the UN General Assembly.

China's new Ambassador to the UN Wang Guangya said in a letter he handed personally to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan that the purpose of raising the issue is "to create `two Chinas' or 'one China, one Taiwan' in this organization.''

"It is not only a flagrant violation of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations but also a brazen challenge to the one-China principle widely recognized by the international community,'' Wang stressed.

Wang was responding to a request by Gambia and a few other countries to include the "question of the representation of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in the United Nations'' on the agenda of this year's General Assembly session. The request was contained in a letter to Annan on Tuesday.

"The Chinese Government strongly condemns and firmly opposes such a gross encroachment on China's internal affairs,'' Wang said.

"Taiwan has been an inseparable part of China's territory since antiquity,'' he noted. "Both the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation reaffirmed in unequivocal terms China's sovereignty over Taiwan as a matter of international law.''

"There is but one China in the world, both the mainland and Taiwan are part of that one and same China, and China's sovereignty and territorial integrity brook no division.''

To date, he said, more than 160 countries in the world have diplomatic relations with China and they all recognize the one-China principle.

"This is a historical trend that cannot be resisted by anybody or any force. It is an objective fact that cannot be changed by anybody,'' Wang added.

Wang recalled that as early as 1971, the 26th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) "adopted, by an overwhelming majority, the historic UNGA Resolution 2758, which has solved once and for all, in political, legal and procedural terms, the issue of China's representation in the United Nations.''

Ever since the day when the legitimate rights of the People's Republic of China (PRC) were restored at the UN, the PRC Government has attached great importance to and worked to ensure the participation and enjoyment of the benefit of UN activities by all Chinese including, naturally, those in Taiwan, Wang said in his letter to Annan. While noting the United Nations is an inter-governmental organization composed of sovereign states, Wang pointed out that as part of China, Taiwan "is not eligible to participate, in whatever name and under whatever pretext, in the work or activities of the United Nations or its specialized agencies.''

Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan also expressed China's strong indignation and resolute opposition on Friday the proposal for so-called "Taiwan representation in the United Nations.''

Close

Today's Top News		Top National News
+Wen warns Taiwan not to misuse democracy ( 2003-12-08) +Beijingers get greater poll choices ( 2003-12-08) +Chinese netizens to hit 78 million ( 2003-12-08) +Kicking around on roof of the world ( 2003-12-08) +Massive west-to-east migration proposed ( 2003-12-08)		+Coal mine explosions kill 19 ( 2003-12-08) +Internet Press Service Committee launched ( 2003-12-08) +Carbon monoxide leakage kills two in NE China ( 2003-12-08) +Law being drafted to protect people's rights of free movement,settlement ( 2003-12-08) +Tianjin tightens control over radioactive stone building materials ( 2003-12-08)