Houston Community News >> Taiwan Continues Fight to Rejoin United Nations.
9/12/2006-- Taiwan's bid for United Nations members has failed for the 14th consecutive year, but President Chen Shui-bian will reiterate Taipei's determination to rejoin the world body at an international news conference Wednesday. Chen will discuss Taiwan's UN bid in a video conference with UN- based experts, scholars, diplomats and reporters starting at 10 am, the Government Information Office (GIO) said.
Chen will talk with the New York-based guests from the presidential office. The video conference will be broadcast live on Taiwan TV, GIO said.
Chen is expected to condemn China for blocking Taipei's bid to rejoint the UN and repeat Taipei's determination to continue the fight next year.
The UN General Assembly's General Committee on Tuesday rejected a proposal by Taipei's diplomatic allies to put the Taiwan issue on the agenda of the 61st UN General Assembly, which opened Tuesday in New York. The General Committee killed the proposal by consensus without a vote, apparently under pressure from China, which is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
The issue of Taiwan's UN membership dates to 1949, when the Chiang Kai-shek-led Chinese Nationalist Government lost the Chinese Civil War to the Communists and fled to Taiwan to set up a government-in- exile. Chiang's government, the Republic of China (ROC), continued to hold China's UN seat until 1971, when the General Assembly expelled the ROC to accept the People's Republic of China (PRC) under Resolution 2758.
In 1993, Taiwan launched an international campaign to rejoin the UN, arguing that the 24 million Taiwan people must "participate" in the UN, as a full member or as an observer. Realizing the futility of trying to rejoin the UN as the Republic of China, Chen said last month that it was time to "seriously consider" applying to join the UN in the name of Taiwan.
China sees Taiwan as its breakaway province awaiting reunification with the motherland. If Taiwan applies to join the UN as an independent country named Taiwan, it will trigger sharp reaction from Beijing, which has warned that it may use force to recover Taiwan if Taipei declares independence or takes concrete steps to seek independence. Only 24 mostly small nations recognize Taiwan, while 170 countries recognize China and see Taiwan as China's territory.
(Contributed by Deutsche Presse Agentur)