This just in on the wire.
While no doubt this statement will help continue the aid flow from Beijing it seems a bit hypocritical to us here at The Hive. UN membership for the DPRK (and ROK) was highly contentious for many years, and was of rather similar to the Taiwan case. Eventually a deal was brokered which saw both Koreas allowed into the UN in the early 1990s (Kim Il Sung reluctantly agreed to join once he was advised by the Chinese that they would no longer be vetoing a request for membership from the ROK).
While we have some sympathy with Taiwan's predicament, that sympathy is tempered by the history of the situation. In the 1960s an opportunity arose to achieve what has happened for the two Koreas. Readers might recall that in the 1960s China was represented in the UN (as a Permanent Member of the Security Council no less) by the ROC based on Taiwan. China (PRC) was not a member of the UN. Overtures were made to China by New Zealand, Canada (and maybe Australia) about the possibility of a package deal - they would become a member of the UN if Taiwan was allowed to remain a member. China in the early 60s (before Mao went really mad and started the Cultural Revolution) appeared interested. Unfortunately for Taiwan, it's leader Chiang Kai-shek was already mad, and he vetoed the idea. The rest is history - China came in during the 1970s and Taiwan was booted out.
