Taipei, Sept 18: Taiwan today accused China of sabotaging the island's 11th annual bid to gain a seat in the United Nations (UN). A proposal to discuss Taiwan's representation at this year's UN annual meeting had been rejected again due to China's opposition, the Foreign Ministry here said.

"Our efforts to join the United Nations are meant to fight for the basic rights of the 23 million people participating in international organisations and address the unreasonable, long-time exclusion of our country from the UN system," the ministry said in a statement. The ministry dismissed as "invalid" Beijing's claim that it already represents Taiwan in the world body, saying the People's Republic of China (China's official name) founded in 1949 has never exercised jurisdiction over the island.

"China's continual blockade of Taiwan's participation in the UN ignoring reality has seriously hurt the feeling of the Taiwanese people," it said. Bureau Report