Poll: Taiwan wants to join United Nations

TAIPEI, Taiwan, March 12 (UPI) -- The overwhelming majority of adults in Taiwan say they believe the Taiwanese government should petition the United Nations for membership, a poll indicates.

A Zogby International poll found 85 percent of adults in Taiwan say they want to petition for membership, while 89 percent said they believe Taiwan should be offered U.N. membership.

The poll of 1,072 adults in Taiwan Feb. 19-21 comes as Taiwan prepares for a March 22 referendum on whether to seek U.N. membership.

The poll also found 89 percent of respondents said they believe the United States should support Taiwan in its effort to gain recognition by the U.N., and 80 percent said the United States should oppose China's position against Taiwan's membership in the international body.

Taiwan has applied for U.N. membership before, but has never won it because of opposition from China, which, as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, holds veto power over membership petitions.

The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.