UN rejects Taiwan bid for membership

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Source: CCTV.com | 09-20-2007 08:15

A key General Assembly committee has rejected Taiwan's bid to join the United Nations. This is the 15th straight year the island has been thwarted in its attempt to become a member of the world body.

The General Committee of the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly decided on Wednesday not to include Taiwan in the world body.

China's Ambassador to the UN, Wang Guangya said he wasn't surprised by the outcome of the meeting.

Wang Guangya said, "I think that the outcome is good because the overwhelming majority of the members in the General Committee, support the One China principle, so therefore I think this issue has already been decided by the General Committee, so they decided not to include this item for the agenda of this year."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday that Taiwan's application to join the UN could not be accepted for legal reasons -- linked to the 1971 UN resolution that stipulates that the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate representative of China in the United Nations.

Addressing the 62nd session, Wang Guangya said that there is only one China in the world -- and Taiwan has been an inalienable part of China since ancient times. He said this is a fact that has been recognized by the UN -- and the vast majority of countries.

Editor:Du Xiaodan