Diplomacy: UN bid infuriates China

China's protest against Taiwan's latest UN bid is groundless, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Katharine Chang (張小月) said yesterday. "China claims it represents the people of Taiwan, but the reality is Taiwan is not part of China," Chang said. "Taiwan is a sovereign state with its government, its own territory as well as its 23 million people." Chang made the remarks after China's UN ambassador, Wang Yingfan (王英凡), wrote to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday. Wang said in the letter that the recent proposal from Taipei's allies to urge the UN to consider Taiwan's entry into the body was an attempt to create "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan." "China does not represent the people of Taiwan. Instead, China has done everything possible to corner Taiwan," said Andrew Hsia (夏立言), head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York.