Taiwan has "no right" to join the United Nations, China said on Wednesday after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on the UN member states to support Taiwan's "robust, meaningful participation throughout the UN system".
"The United Nations is an international governmental organisation composed of sovereign states. Taiwan is a part of China," Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing, said at a media briefing.
Ma said the People's Republic of China is the "only legal government representing the whole of China," urging politicians in Taipei to abandon the idea of relying on Washington for independence.
Blinken had on Tuesday called on United Nations member states to back Taiwan's "meaningful" participation in the UN system amid China's continued efforts to limit the island's international participation.
"...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, consistent with our 'one China' policy, which is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances," Blinken had said in a statement.
Arguing for Taiwan's "robust" participation in the UN, Blinken had said that the island's exclusion undermines the important work of the UN and its related bodies.
"The fact that Taiwan participated robustly in certain UN specialized agencies for the vast majority of the past 50 years is evidence of the value the international community places in Taiwan's contributions. Recently, however, Taiwan has not been permitted to contribute to UN efforts," he had said.
Despite the tens of millions of passengers travelling annually through its airports, Taiwan was not represented at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) triennial assembly, Blinken noted.
Taiwan left the UN in 1971 when China took its place. Since then, Taiwan has been excluded from participation in the General Assembly and other world forums.
( With inputs from ANI )
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