Wang Yingfan, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, made the statement in his letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan after Gambia and a very few other countries proposed that a supplementary item entitled "Question of the Representation of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in the United Nations” be inscribed on the agenda of the 57th session of the General Assembly.

By raising the so-called issue of "the representation of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in the United Nations" to the General Assembly this year, the very few countries are even more aggressively trying to create "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan" in the world body, Wang said.

"Such an erroneous act is not only a flagrant violation of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and a serious distortion of the nature of this Organization, but also a brazen challenge to the 'one China' principle widely recognized by the international community," he said.

"It has severely encroached upon China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and grossly interfered in China's internal affairs," he said. "The Chinese government strongly condemns and firmly opposes it and requests these countries immediately to desist from engaging in any such illegal act that undermines China's sovereignty and integrity."

"There is but one China in the world and Taiwan has been part of China's territory since antiquity," he said, noting that both the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation have reaffirmed in unequivocal terms China's sovereignty over Taiwan as a matter of international law.

"To date, more than 160 countries in the world have diplomatic relations with China," he said. "They recognize the 'one China' principle, which has become a historical trend that nobody and no force can resist."

In 1971, the 26th session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted, by an overwhelming majority, the Resolution 2758, which has solved once and for all, in political, legal and procedural terms, the issue of China's representation in the United Nations.

"The essence of the resolution is the universally-recognized ' one China' principle," he said.

The proposal raised by Gambia and very few other countries is "wanton distortion of Resolution 2758 and constitutes an open challenge to the 'one China' principle," he said. "It has once again revealed the sinister intention of the Taiwan authorities to split China."

"There is simply no such issue as the so-called 'Taiwan's representation at the United Nations'," he said. "As of the day when the legitimate rights of the People's Republic of China were restored at the UN, the government of the People's Republic of China has been stressing and taken every possible measure to ensure that the entire Chinese people fully participate in and benefit from activities of the United Nations. This has naturally included our compatriots in Taiwan."

The United Nations is an inter-governmental organization composed of sovereign States, he said. "As part of China, Taiwan is not eligible to participate, in whatever name and under whatever pretext, in the work of activities of the United Nations or its specialized agencies."

The General Committee of the successive sessions of the General Assembly since 1993 have all flatly refused to include in the agenda of the General Assembly the so-called issue of Taiwan's "participation" in the United Nations.

"This fully demonstrates that to raise in whatever form the so-called issue of Taiwan's "participation" in the United Nations will constitute a serious violation of the principle of not undermining the territorial integrity of any Member States, as provided for in the Charter of the United Nations, and Resolution 2758 of the General Assembly," he said.

"By distorting the resolution and confusing history, this year's proposal by a small number of countries is aimed at nothing but touting Chen Shui-bian's activities of advocating 'Taiwan independence' and splitting China," he said. "Such perverse acts are doomed to failure as before."

Receiving the letter on behalf of Annan, UN Undersecretary-General and Chief de Cabinet of the Executive Office of the UN Secretary-General Iqbal Riza said, the UN stance on the Taiwan issue is fully based on the Resolution 2758 of the General Assembly, noting, "This is absolutely clear."

(People's Daily August 13, 2002)