General Assembly upholds decision to deny Taiwan UN membership

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UNITED NATIONS, Sept 22 (AFP): The UN General Assembly agreed by consensus Friday to uphold a decision by one of its committees to reject Taiwan's 15th consecutive annual bid for membership in the face of strong opposition from Beijing.
Backers of Taipei pushed for including on the agenda of the 192-member UN General Assembly's 62nd session a request that the powerful Security Council be urged "to process Taiwan's membership application".
The move was sponsored by Belize, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Honduras, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Pala, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sao Tome and Principe, Solomon Islands, Swaziland and Tuvalu.
But after a day-long debate in plenary session Friday, a consensus emerged among assembly members present in favour of backing the decision by the assembly's 22-member General Committee Wednesday not to put the membership issue on the agenda.
In his address to the assembly session Friday, China's UN Ambassador Wang Guangya forcefully reiterated his country's opposition to Taiwan's UN membership.