Taiwan’s 15th annual bid to join U.N. rejected

A U.N. committee rejected a proposal to put on the agenda of the 62nd U.N. General Assembly session representation and participation of Taiwan in the United Nations.

The assembly’s General Committee, a panel on which all 192 U.N. members have a voice, made the decision in a closed meeting. The 62nd session officially opened on Tuesday.

“I think the outcome is good because the overwhelming majority of members of the committee support a one-China policy,” Beijing’s U.N. ambassador, Wang Guangya, told reporters.

Taiwan, expelled from the world body in 1971 in favor of China, has made repeated efforts to get back in and this year applied for the first time under the name Taiwan instead of its formal title, Republic of China.

President Chen Shui-bian also has scheduled a referendum for March on the U.N. membership drive in a move that has caused tension with the United States as well as Beijing, which considers Taiwan a renegade province.

At issue is whether Taiwan is part of China or not. Beijing says it is and has threatened to attack the island if it declares independence. U.N. membership could be considered a move toward independence.

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