New Delhi: After US Secretary of State Antony Blinken backed Taiwan and pushed for Taiwan's inclusion in the UN system, China on Wednesday refuted the decision and said that Beijing has no right to join the United Nations.
The response came after US Secretary of State Blinken in a statement marking 50 years since the UN General Assembly voted to seat Beijing and excluded Taipei, highlighted that Taiwan's exclusion undermines the important work of the UN and its related bodies.
Taiwan’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 on Tuesday.
"We need to harness the contributions of all stakeholders toward solving our shared challenges. That is why we encourage all UN Member States to join us in supporting Taiwan’s robust, meaningful participation throughout the UN system and in the international community, consistent with our “one China” policy, which is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances," he pointed out.
Opposing his statement, Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing at a regular briefing, said that the United Nations is an international governmental organisation composed of sovereign states, "adding: "Taiwan is a part of China".
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Ma said that the People's Republic of China is the only legal government representing the whole of China, urging politicians in Taipei to abandon the idea of relying on Washington for independence.
Blinken on Tuesday said, "Taiwan is critical to the global high-tech economy and a hub of travel, culture, and education. We are among the many UN member states who view Taiwan as a valued partner and trusted friend".
"As the international community faces an unprecedented number of complex and global issues, all stakeholders must help address these problems. This includes the 24 million people who live in Taiwan. Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the UN system is not a political issue, but a pragmatic one," Blinken pointed out.
He noted that the fact that Taiwan 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 Taiwan’s contributions.
Recently, however, Taiwan has not been permitted to contribute to UN efforts. Despite the tens of millions of passengers travelling annually through its airports, Taiwan was not represented at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) triennial assembly.
"Although we have much to learn from Taiwan’s world-class response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan was not at the World Health Assembly. Members of civil society from around the world engage every day in activities at the UN, but Taiwan’s scientists, technical experts, business persons, artists, educators, students, human rights advocates, and others are blocked from entry and participating in these activities simply because of the passports they hold," Blinken said.
