Taiwan, using its formal name the Republic of China, held the Chinese seat at the UN until Oct 25, 1971, when it was voted out as representative of the country in favour of the People's Republic of China, which had won a civil war in 1949 and forced the republican government to flee to the island. China says that Taiwan is one of its provinces, and so it has the sole right to represent Taiwan internationally. The democratically-elected government in Taipei says only it has that right.
In a statement late on Saturday (Oct 23), the US State Department said US and Taiwanese officials had met virtually on Friday for a "discussion focused on supporting Taiwan's ability to participate meaningfully at the UN". "US participants reiterated the US commitment to Taiwan's meaningful participation at the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and discussed ways to highlight Taiwan's ability to contribute to efforts on a wide range of issues," it added.
