Taiwan denies UN bid threatens China

Taiwan fears a military invasion from China

By Taiwan correspondent Damian Grammaticas

The island of Taiwan has said a new attempt it has launched to join the United Nations is not a threat to China.

Taiwan's Deputy Foreign Minister, Wu Tzu-dan, made the comments after it was announced that 10 nations are asking the UN to examine the case for admitting the island to the body.

China has already expressed its indignant opposition to the move.

Every year for the past nine years Taiwan has attempted to join the the United Nations. Each time it has failed.

This latest go appears to have zero chance of success.

'Exceptional situation'

But Taiwan's deputy foreign minister said he hoped the UN will consider what he called the common desire of Taiwan's 23-million people for international representation.

Taiwan's supporters

Belize

Burkina Faso

Chad

Dominica

El Salvador

Gambia

Nicaragua

Palau

Senegal

Tuvalu

He said the move was not aimed at challenging mainland-China's seat on the body, adding Taiwan's international isolation has caused serious difficulties for its people.

Ten nations, including Gambia, El Salvador and Senegal have asked the UN to examine Taiwan's "exceptional international situation".

They say Taiwan is a free and democratic country that has been governed separately from China for 50 years and the UN should recognise this.

China veto

Beijing has already said the move is unjustified. It continues to claim sovreignty over Taiwan, saying the issue of its status is an internal not an international matter.

China is certain to use its power in the UN to block this attempt.

When the United Nations was founded the Chinese seat was held by China's Nationalist government. After the communists siezed control of mainland China in 1949 the nationalists were left ruling only the island of Taiwan 100 miles off the coast.

Taiwan held on to the Chinese seat in the UN until 1971. It walked out ahead of a vote that transferred the seat to Beijing.

Supporting Taiwan's desire to rejoin, Nicaragua's ambassador to the UN, Alfonso Ortega Urbina, said the organisation's door should be open to all people. If Taiwan continues to knock he said one day the door would open.

And Grenada's ambassador, Lamuel Stanislaus, quoted a Chinese proverb saying in any struggle between trouble and patience, patience will win.