The Chinese government 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" debated at the
annual session of the UN General
Assembly.
The purpose of raising the issue is "to create 'two China' or
'one China, one Taiwan' in this organization," Chinese new
Ambassador to the United Nations Wang Guangya said in a letter he
handed personally to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
"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 in response 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 have 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 irresistible to
anybody or any force. It is an objectivity that cannot be changed
by anybody."
Wang recalled that as early as in 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 procedure 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 wrote.
"Therefore, there is simply no such issue as the so-called
'Taiwan's representation in the United Nations'. It is a futile
attempt to distort or even deny UNGA Resolution 2758," he
emphasized.
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."
"No sovereign state in the world would allow one of its
provinces or regions to participate in the work or activities of
the United Nations, an organization composed of sovereign states
only," he explained.
He said the General Committees of the successive sessions of the
General Assembly since 1993 have all flatly refused to include in
the agenda of the General Assembly the issue of Taiwan's
"participation" in the United Nations.
"This fully demonstrates that to raise in whatever form the
so-called issue of Taiwan's 'participation' in the United Nations
will fail to receive support from the vast number of UN member
states," he said.
In his letter, Wang also criticized the Taiwan authorities for
politicizing the outbreak of the SARS epidemic in the island early
this summer.
After the outbreak of SARS, he said, the central government of
China, showing great concern, adopted a number of measures to
promote exchanges of experience and technical cooperation between
the two sides of the Taiwan Straits.
The Chinese government also allowed the World Health
Organization (WHO) experts to investigate the SARS situation in
Taiwan, followed by its approval to Taiwan medical experts'
participation in the WHO-sponsored global SARS conference in June
this year, he added.
"The Taiwan authorities, out of ulterior motives, have incited a
handful of countries to make SARS a political issue," he said. "It
is an act both immoral and unwise."
Stressing the question of Taiwan is purely an internal matter of
China, Wang noted that an early solution to the Taiwan question and
realization of complete reunification of the motherland is in the
fundamental interest of the entire Chinese people including Taiwan
compatriots and reflects the shared aspiration of all Chinese both
at home and abroad.
"The smooth return of Hong Kong and Macao to the motherland has
testified to the strong vitality of the 'one country, two systems’
policy. Adherence to the one-China principle is the basis for the
development of cross-straits relations and the realization of
peaceful reunification."
Wang also strongly urged Gambia and other sponsor states of the
proposal on Taiwan to abide by the United Nations Charter and UNGA
Resolution 2758 and identify themselves with the great number of UN
member states.
"China has never done anything harmful to the interests of the
above-mentioned small number of countries, but what they have been
doing regarding the question of Taiwan has undermined the national
interests of China and hurt the feelings of the Chinese people," he
said.
(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2003)