Taiwan is considering applying to join the United Nations under the island's own name, a move that China would see as a provocative declaration of independence by a renegade province.
However, Taiwan Foreign Minister Mark Chen was careful to avoid saying the self-governing island had taken any decision to apply for membership using a name other than its official title, the Republic of China, after its latest application failed.
"We deeply regret that our case was not included in the UN General Assembly agenda, but we will not be discouraged," Chen told a news conference.
Most UN members support Beijing's position that Taiwan is a province of China, and a UN committee rejected the island's 12th bid for membership without a vote on Wednesday.
"Some private groups have said we should file our own membership application instead of having other countries speak on our behalf," Chen told a news conference when asked if the island should join the United Nations using the name "Taiwan".
"The foreign ministry will make thorough considerations."
The Republic of China (ROC) was kicked out of the United Nations in 1971, when the General Assembly adopted resolution 2758, which declared the People's Republic of China (PRC) "as the only legitimate representatives of China".
Before that, Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist government, which fled to the island after the 1949 Communist revolution in mainland China, occupied the UN seat.
In Beijing, the foreign ministry called Taiwan's latest bid for UN membership a farce.
"There is only one China in the world, this principle is not only recognised by UN Resolution 2758, it is especially recognised by the majority of international society, and has been carried out," said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan.
On Wednesday, Beijing condemned a proposal by Taiwan to use the island's official name less often, calling the tactic part of a push towards formal independence.
Some supporters of Taiwan independence have suggested the island drop the name Republic of China and just use Taiwan, to reflect the island's evolution into a new country.
Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan under its one China policy and has threatened to attack the self-ruled democratic island if it formally opts for independence.
The Taiwan Strait is considered by analysts to be among the most dangerous flash-points in Asia.
Taiwan's December legislative elections will be key to ties because independence-leaning President Chen Shui-bian's party is hoping to win a majority in co-operation with its even more fiercely pro-independence ally, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU).
"The ROC's seat in the United Nations has been replaced by the PRC. It's impossible for us to return to the United Nations using the name ROC," said Huang Chu-wen, chairman of the TSU.
"We can only succeed if we apply to join the United Nations as Taiwan," Huang told reporters in parliament.
An opposition alliance, which favours a more conciliatory policy towards China, now dominates parliament and has managed to water down Chen's more aggressive proposals in the past.
The TSU advocates formally dropping the ROC title in favour of Taiwan, a proposal Chen has ruled out.
However, Beijing is deeply suspicious of the Taiwan leader's motives because he plans to adopt a new constitution by 2008 that China considers tantamount to a declaration of independence.
In an unusual satellite news conference with UN-based reporters on Wednesday, Taiwan's president argued that the 1971 resolution did not say China could represent Taiwan.
Excluding the island's 23 million people was tantamount to political apartheid by the United Nations, Chen said.
Comments
Comments are closed.