China stands firmly opposed to listing the so-called "Taiwan's entry into the United Nations" issue on the agenda of the 62nd General Assembly of the UN.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu made the remarks in Beijing on Thursday morning in response to a letter on the issue.

The letter was presented on the evening of August 14 to President Haya Rashed al Khalifa of the 61st UN General Assembly by a small number of countries, including the Solomon Islands and Malawi, after encouragement from the Taiwan authorities.

Jiang said Taiwan has been an inalienable part of the Chinese territory since ancient times, and both the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation confirm China's sovereignty over Taiwan.

She noted that the UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 adopted in 1971 stipulated clearly that the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate representative of China in the United Nations.

More than 160 countries in the world have diplomatic ties with China and they all recognize the fact that there is only one China and Taiwan is part of China, continued Jiang.

She noted that only sovereign states are able, in line with the UN Charter, the Provisional Rules of Procedure of the Security Council, and the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly, to apply for membership in the UN.

Taiwan, as part of China, is unqualified to "join," in any name, an organization composed solely of sovereign states, Jiang pointed out.

She said the UN General Committee has refused to list issues concerning Taiwan on the UN General Assembly agenda since 1993, which fully demonstrates that any action in conflict with the UN Charter and the Resolution 2758, and any attempt aimed at splitting China is unpopular, impossible to win support from the vast majority of the UN member states, and doomed to failure.

(Xinhua News Agency August 16, 2007)