China Says Taiwan ‘Has No Right’ to Join UN, After US Nod

• Taiwan has no right to join United Nations – China tackles US after it suggested that Taiwan be admitted into the UN
• US President Joe Biden last week told a televised forum that the United States was ready to defend Taiwan from any Chinese invasion.

Ekohotblog reports that China has claimed that Taiwan has no right to join the United Nations, after the US’s push for the democratic island to be more involved in the international organization.

In a statement celebrating the 50th anniversary of the UN General Assembly’s decision to seat Beijing and kick Taipei out, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated Tuesday, October 26, that he lamented Taiwan’s increasing exclusion from the global arena.

“As the international community faces an unprecedented number of complex and global issues, it is critical for all stakeholders to help address these problems. This includes the 24 million people who live in Taiwan,” Blinken said.

“Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the UN system is not a political issue, but a pragmatic one,” he said.

“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.”

“Taiwan has become a democratic success story,” Blinken said. “We are among the many UN member states who view Taiwan as a valued partner and trusted friend.”

Blinken cited Taiwan’s absence from International Civil Aviation Organization and World Health Organization meetings.

He stated that Taiwan was praised for its “world-class” reaction to Covid-19, which mostly spared the island following the early intervention, and that tens of millions of people transit through Taiwanese airports each year.

China regards Taiwan, where nationalist troops fled after losing a civil war to communists in 1949, as a province that must be reunified, by force if necessary.

China replied to Blinken’s comments by emphasizing that Taiwan’s government has no place on the international diplomatic scene.

“Taiwan has no right to join the United Nations,” Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing, told reporters.

“The United Nations is an international governmental organisation composed of sovereign states… Taiwan is a part of China.”

The latest statement adds to an escalation of diplomatic rhetoric and military posturing over Taiwan.

US President Joe Biden last week told a televised forum that the United States was ready to defend Taiwan from any Chinese invasion.