Diplomatically isolated Taiwan launched its annual bid to join the United Nations on Thursday, mobilising its few allies to propose the island's membership in a move sure to be vehemently opposed by its diplomatic enemy China.
Twelve small countries from Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America have asked the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, to put Taiwan's membership on the agenda of the General Assembly meeting that starts next month, Taiwan's foreign ministry said.
The ministry said Taiwan's Republic of China government, which has a mere 29 diplomatic allies, has co-existed with the Communists' People's Republic of China for 50 years.
"Over that half century, each side has developed its own political system, social values and foreign relations," a transcript submitted to the UN said. "Therefore, each of these two governments can only speak for and represent the people actually under its jurisdiction on its respective side of the Taiwan strait." China said Taiwan's attempt to rejoin the UN would end in failure and accused the island of using money politics to win support.
In a statement, the Chinese foreign ministry accused Taiwan's Foreign Minister, Mr Jason Hu, of hurrying to central America and using "the despicable means of bribery" to make an uproar over the issue of Taiwan's admission to the UN.
Taiwan and China have been bitter rivals since Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist government lost a civil war to Mao Zedong's Communist troops and fled to Taiwan in 1949.
Despite its exile, Chiang's government held onto China's UNseat until October 1971, when it was expelled by the General Assembly and replaced by the Beijing government.
Taipei has launched an annual drive to enter the UN since 1992.
This year's move comes just one month after Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui infuriated China by calling for Taiwan-China ties to be treated as "special state-to-state" relations.