China stands firmly opposed to the inclusion of the so-called "Taiwan's entry into the United Nations" issue on the agenda of the 62nd General Assembly of the United Nations.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu made the remarks yesterday in response to a letter on the issue.

The letter was presented on August 14 to President Haya Rashed al Khalifa of the 61st UN General Assembly by a very small number of countries including the Solomon Islands and Malawi which were encouraged by the Taiwan authorities.

Jiang said Taiwan has been an inalienable part of the Chinese territory since ancient times, and both the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation confirmed China's sovereignty over Taiwan.

She said UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 adopted in 1971, stipulates clearly that the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate representative of China in the United Nations.

More than 160 countries have diplomatic ties with China and they all recognize the fact that there is only one China and Taiwan is part of China, Jiang said.

She said only sovereign states in line with the UN Charter, the Provisional Rules of Procedure of the Security Council and the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly, can apply for membership to the United Nations.

Taiwan, as part of China, is unqualified to "join", under any name. The United Nations is composed of sovereign states, Jiang said.

She said the UN General Committee, since 1993, has refused to list issues concerning Taiwan on UN General Assembly agendas.

This fully demonstrates that any action that runs counter to the UN Charter and Resolution 2758, and any attempt aimed at splitting China are unpopular, impossible to win support from the vast majority of UN member states, and is doomed to failure.

(Xinhua News Agency August 17, 2007)