The United Nations on Monday rejected Taiwan's application to join the world body, citing Beijing's "one China" policy that says there is only one China and Taiwan is part of it.

Beijing has claimed sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949 and has vowed to bring the island back under mainland rule, by force if necessary.

"Scum of the nation who attempt to split the country cannot escape the punishment of history in the end," Xinhua news agency quoted an unnamed official with China's Taiwan Affairs Office as saying.

"This has once again proved that (Taiwan President) Chen Shui-bian is an out and out plotter and saboteur who would not hesitate to sacrifice the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in Asia-Pacific."

Chen applied for membership of the organization under the name "Taiwan", a departure from Taipei's past practice of applying as "Republic of China", its official name.

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council fired back that China was failing to face up to reality. Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council fired back that China was failing to face up to reality.

"China is attempting to use the international community to pressure Taiwan and that just shows that it doesn't dare to face the fact that Taiwan is sovereign and independent, and that the two sides don't belong to each other," the MAC said in a statement.

It added: "The government's determination to join the United Nation and the direction to respect the willingness of all the Taiwanese people will never change."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday in Taipei that it regrets the U.N. Secretariat's decision to reject Taiwan's request to join the world body under the name of "Taiwan."

MOFA spokesman David Wang was responding to comments by a spokesman of the U.N. Secretariat who said Monday that the U.N. Office of Legal Affairs will not accept Taiwan's application for U.N. membership based on U.N. Resolution 2758 adopted in 1971, which replaced the Republic of China on Taiwan with the People's Republic of China as the sole representative of China in the United Nations.

The resolution establishes that the United Nations follows a "one China" policy, the Office of Legal Affairs said.

Wang said that the U.N. Secretariat's rejection of Taiwan's request was based on "outdated reasons" and that Taiwan thinks there is "nothing new" about the reasons.

"The resolution needs to be reviewed, " he said, stressing that "the resolution only deals with the representation of the People's Republic of China and does not deal with the right of the Taiwan people to participation in the organization."

"It is unreasonable for the U.N. Secretariat to reject Taiwan's bid without even screening it," he added.

The ministry has urged the United Nations to follow its rules of procedures and respect the spirit of the U.N. Charter by treating Taiwan's bid to join the organization in the same way that it would treat that of any other applicant, Wang said.

MOFA officials said that Taiwan's diplomatic allies Swaziland and the Solomon Islands recently sent letters to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in which they attached a letter by President Chen Shui-bian to the U.N. secretary-general voicing Taiwan's keen desire to become a U.N. member.

The Republic of China on Taiwan has tried without success to re-enter the United Nations since 1993. This year marks the first time that it has changed tactics by bidding to join the world body under the name "Taiwan."