China’s new UN Ambassador Zhang Yesui (張業遂) published a letter in the Journal of the United Nations on Friday reiterating that Taiwan’s allies have violated the “one China” principle by supporting its participation in the UN and that such support is a distortion of the “principle of universality.”
On Sept. 17, the UN General Committee rejected a proposal to include Taiwan’s request to be allowed to participate in UN agencies on the General Assembly agenda.
Later during an assembly debate, some of Taiwan’s allies spoke in favor of its participation in the global body.
In the letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Zhang reaffirmed China’s insistence on the one China principle and posed four points regarding Taiwan’s attempt to participate in the UN activities.
“There is only one China in the world … The Chinese Government’s adherence to the one China principle will never change,” Zhang said in the letter dated Oct. 14.
Then he stressed that Taiwan’s claim of the “principle of universality” must be based on sovereign states.
“Taiwan is a part of China. The claim by a very few countries that the Taiwan region should be allowed to ‘participate’ in the United Nations specialized agencies is based on a misinterpretation of the ‘principle of universality,’” the letter states.
Zhang said in the letter that Taiwan and China should build mutual trust, and they should put aside differences while seeking common ground for a “win-win result.”
“The Chinese government hopes that the very few countries involved will desist from doing things that undermine China’s interests and hurt the Chinese people’s feelings,” he said.
It was the first time Zhang commented on the Taiwan issue since he replaced Wang Guangya (王光亞) on Sept. 26.
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