Posted on 08/15/2004 11:09:23 PM PDT by yonif
BEIJING (Reuters) - China has written a rare letter to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, condemning Taiwan's most recent bid to join the world body and urging him to circulate it as a formal document among United Nations members.
Taiwan launched its 12th annual bid to join the United Nations this month, urging an end to its "political apartheid" in a proposal that has yet again angered Beijing, which has claimed sovereignty over the island since their split in 1949.
"The Taiwan authorities...are pushing cross-Strait ties to the brink of danger and seriously threatening peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Asia-Pacific region," Zhang Yishan, China's envoy to the United Nations, told Annan in the letter.
Zhang urged Annan to circulate his letter as a formal document among U.N. members, according to the letter, which available on Monday on the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Web site.
Tension has been simmering since the re-election of Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian in March. China is convinced he will push for formal independence during his second four-year term and China's 2.5-million-strong People's Liberation Army is readying for a possible showdown.
Beijing, which considers Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be returned to the fold, by force if necessary, sits on the five-member U.N. Security Council with veto power and has many more diplomatic allies than Taiwan's paltry 26.
Taipei insists it is a sovereign state.
Taiwan's bid this year to join the United Nations was brought by 15 of its allies, mostly small and poorer states in Latin America, Africa and the Pacific. A General Assembly committee is scheduled to review Taiwan's application bid on September 15.
Zhang condemned Taiwan's allies for "grossly interfering in China's internal affair" and wasting U.N. resources.
"As a part of China, Taiwan is fundamentally not qualified to 'participate in' the United Nations and its organisations under any name or pretext," Zhang said.
Some security analysts see the Taiwan Strait as the most dangerous flashpoint in Asia.
Zhang said China was committed to peaceful unification with Taiwan but would never tolerate the island formally declaring itself independent.
The question of U.N. membership has raged since 1949, when Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist government lost a civil war to the communists on mainland China and fled to Taiwan, taking with him the Republic of China government.
Chiang held on to China's U.N. seat until 1971, when the General Assembly expelled Taipei and gave the seat to Beijing.
Taiwan has tried to join the United Nations every year since 1993, but China and its allies have blocked the initiatives.
My brain hurts.
If so, they might want to change their Constitution to reflect that.
Yes. But it might not come for a few years... I hope.
The PRC just won't let go. This is why:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1192148/posts?page=10#10
The following is sarcastic humor. Most people can't tell the difference without facial expressions and tone... A most unfortunate flaw in ASCII.
Well, I think technically - the People's Republic of China is a province in rebellion.
Now, Taiwan... We should give them the seat in the Security Council, and we should invade China and liberate its people and return them to Taiwan. End the 60 some odd years of rebellion.
Wouldn't that be just peach?
China is starting to sound like the Arabs.
Just goes to show ignorant liberals and anti-war activists, that staying put and minding your own business is a serious threat to world peace.
Fargin communist chinamen...I really, really don't like communists.
Not voting for Hillary in 2008, aye?
"I think technically - the People's Republic of China is a province in rebellion."
Actually your satire is right on the mark. Any international body that is truly committed to peace and prosperity cannot possibly include regimes that are held in place by force.
Any government that is not legitimized by a popular mandate should be kicked out of the UN. Let the PRC then rejoin the community of nations by joining Taiwan in implementing limited representative government.
Of course another alternative would be for all of the democracies to abandon the UN and form a new international body based upon the explicit mission to spread freedom. The UN can then be on paper what it has been in practice for many years -- a league of dictatorships.
Redcomm china is the muhammadans...
What do Iran, Pakistan, Syria and N.Korea have in common?
Redcomm china's missile technology (etc.), given to them by Amerika (the other America).
I honestly hope she either a)is touched by Jesus before then and moves forward or b)is touched by a moving bus before then...
Thats what I truly believe!!
How about C: the good guys all leave the UN and hang out once in awhile, not forming another freaking world org., but working together to stomp on the bad guys when necessary...
I don't agree with entering into unConstitutional arrangements to begin with...and I certainly think that it's unwise to tie yourself to, say, Spain. Look at where that gets you after an election?
The ChiComs are the only ones threatening the peace. They are the only ones threatening war. Taiwan isn't and says the exact opposite.
Ironically they are threatening war because Taiwan says they do not want to attack China and tek it over.
Go figure. The ChiComs get mad and threaten attack because a neigbor country says it wants to live peacefully next to them.
See my above. What's funny is that the Chinese communists would like it better if Taiwan was saying they will attack China and destroy its government and take over the country.
They threaten attack because Taiwan does not want to attack them and take them over.
It's too late for that. Taiwan wouldn't, understandably, want to join China even if China were free and democratic.
Deng could have made a deal with Chiang Ching-kuo in the 1980's, but didn't have the guts.
He could order the massacre of unarmed civilians but couldn't make a move to do away with the People's Republic to form a free China that included Taiwan.
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