On the UN thingie

Tip off from Maddog via e-mail. The article explains the UN application process better than I did earlier:

Taiwan said Friday it has changed tact in its United Nations membership bid by seeking to access special organizations of the global body instead.

"The motion raised by our allies this year is to urge the UN assembly to propose that its special organizations accept the meaningful participation of Taiwan and its 23 million people in their respective bodies and activities," said Vice Foreign Minister Hsia Li-yan in a news conference in Taipei.

Instead of seeking to join the United Nations as it has done every year since 1993, Hsia said it would be more practical for the island to join the UN special organizations, including the World Health Organisation.

He said 17 of Taiwan's 23 diplomatic allies submitted the motion to the UN General Assembly Thursday as a provisional agenda for review in next month's assembly in New York.

Taiwan will accept using any title, including Chinese-Taipei, in order to gain accession to those special bodies. "But of course, we will not consider the 'China's Taipei' title," he added.