BEIJING (Dispatches) - China has again said that Taiwan has “no right” to join the United Nations, a day after the United States voiced support for the island’s “meaningful participation” at the organization.
On Wednesday, in response to United Nations, the U.S. support for Taipei’s endeavor, the spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing Ma Xiaoguang said Taiwan “has no right to join the United Nations”.
“The United Nations is an international governmental organisation composed of sovereign states … Taiwan is a part of China,” Xiaoguang told reporters.
Taiwan had held the Chinese seat at the organization until October 25, 1971, when it was voted out as representative of the country in favor of the People’s Republic of China, which won the civil war in 1949 and forced the republican government to flee to the island.
Since then, Taipei has regularly sought increased participation at the UN and its array of bodies.
Meanwhile, China’s Global Times has separately published an editorial accusing Blinken of trying to upgrade Washington’s approach toward Taipei and opening a “new offensive” on the self-governed island.
The English-language newspaper said China won’t “step back an inch” on the issue, arguing that the call would be rejected by most UN members.
In a statement on Tuesday, Blinken urged other countries to join Washington in pushing for a greater inclusion of Chinese Taipei in UN institutions. Taipei’s “exclusion undermines the important work of the UN and its related bodies, all of which stand to benefit greatly from its contributions,” Blinken said.
The fact that Taipei “participated robustly in certain UN specialized agencies for the vast majority of the past 50 years is evidence of the value the international community places” in the self-ruled island’s contributions, he added.
The U.S. official further expressed regret that Taipei had not been permitted to contribute to UN efforts and had increasingly been excluded on the world stage.
“That is why we encourage all UN member states to join us in supporting” Taipei’s “robust, meaningful participation throughout the UN system and in the international community,” he said.
U.S. President Joe Biden said earlier that the United States would come to Taipei’s aid if it were to come under attack from China, claiming it had a commitment to defend the self-ruled island.