The Chinese government Thursday strongly condemned an 11h attempt by a small number of countries to have the so-called issue of "Taiwan's representation in the United Nations" debated at the annual session of the UN General Assembly.

The Chinese government Thursday strongly condemned an 11h attempt by a small number of countries to have the so-called issue of "Taiwan's representation in the United Nations" debated at the annual session of the UN General Assembly.

The purpose of raising the issue is "to create 'two China' or 'one China, one Taiwan' in this organization," Chinese new Ambassador to the United Nations Wang Guangya said in a letter he handed personally to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan."It is not only a flagrant violation of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations but also a brazen challenge to the one-China principle widely recognized by the international community," Wang stressed.

Wang was in response to a request by Gambia and a few other countries to include the "question of the representation of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in the United Nations" on the agenda of this year's General Assembly session. The request was contained in a letter to Annan on Tuesday.

"The Chinese government strongly condemns and firmly opposes such a gross encroachment on China's internal affairs," Wang said."Taiwan has been an inseparable part of China's territory since antiquity," he noted. "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." "There is but one China in the world, both the mainland and Taiwan are part of that one and same China, and China's sovereignty and territorial integrity brook no division. "To date, he said, more than 160 countries in the world have diplomatic relations with China and they all recognize the one-China principle. "This is a historical trend irresistible to anybody or any force. It is an objectivity that cannot be changed by anybody."

Wang recalled that as early as in 1971, the 26th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) "adopted, by an overwhelming majority, the historic UNGA Resolution 2758, which has solved once and for all, in political, legal and procedure terms, the issue of China's representation in the United Nations."

Ever since the day when the legitimate rights of the People's Republic of China (PRC) were restored at the UN, the PRC government has attached great importance to and worked to ensure the participation and enjoyment of the benefit of UN activities by all Chinese including, naturally, those in Taiwan, Wang wrote. "Therefore, there is simply no such issue as the so-called 'Taiwan's representation in the United Nations'. It is a futile attempt to distort or even deny UNGA Resolution 2758," he emphasized.

While noting the United Nations is an inter-governmental organization composed of sovereign states, Wang pointed out that as part of China, Taiwan "is not eligible to participate, in whatever name and under whatever pretext, in the work or activities of the United Nations or its specialized agencies." "No sovereign state in the world would allow one of its provinces or regions to participate in the work or activities of the United Nations, an organization composed of sovereign states only," he explained.

He said the General Committees of the successive sessions of the General Assembly since 1993 have all flatly refused to include in the agenda of the General Assembly the 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 fail to receive support from the vast number of UN member states," he said.

In his letter, Wang also criticized the Taiwan authorities for politicizing the outbreak of the SARS epidemic in the island early this summer.

After the outbreak of SARS, he said, the central government of China, showing great concern, adopted a number of measures to promote exchanges of experience and technical cooperation between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits.

The Chinese government also allowed the World Health Organization (WHO) experts to investigate the SARS situation in Taiwan, followed by its approval to Taiwan medical experts' participation in the WHO-sponsored global SARS conference in June this year, he added.

"The Taiwan authorities, out of ulterior motives, have incited a handful of countries to make SARS a political issue," he said. "It is an act both immoral and unwise."

Stressing the question of Taiwan is purely an internal matter of China, Wang noted that an early solution to the Taiwan question and realization of complete reunification of the motherland is in the fundamental interest of the entire Chinese people including Taiwan compatriots and reflects the shared aspiration of all Chinese both at home and abroad.

"The smooth return of Hong Kong and Macao to the motherland has testified to the strong vitality of the 'one country, two systems' policy. Adherence to the one-China principle is the basis for the development of cross-straits relations and the realization of peaceful reunification."

Wang also strongly urged Gambia and other sponsor states of the proposal on Taiwan to abide by the United Nations Charter and UNGA Resolution 2758 and identify themselves with the great number of UN member states.

"China has never done anything harmful to the interests of the above-mentioned small number of countries, but what they have been doing regarding the question of Taiwan has undermined the national interests of China and hurt the feelings of the Chinese people," he said.