Uzbekistan reaffirmed on Friday its one-China policy and regards Taiwan an inseparable part of China, according to reports reaching Moscow.

"Uzbekistan recognizes that there exists only one China in the world and that the government of the People’s Republic of China is its only legitimate government. Taiwan is an inseparable part of China," Interfax quoted a Uzbekistan Foreign Ministry statement as saying.

The statement mentioned attempts by the Taiwan authorities to join the United Nations and to hold a referendum on the issue, reaffirming its principle concerning Taiwan as recorded in a Treaty of Partnership, Friendship and Cooperation with China.

The statement was made in response to recent moves by the Taiwan authorities under Chen Shui-bian to push for UN membership under the name of "Taiwan," attracting opposition from the international community, including the United States and the European Union.

The Taiwan authorities on 19 July sent a letter to UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-Moon, raising an application to join the United Nations under the name of "Taiwan." Meanwhile, Chen Shui-bian has been pushing for a plan to hold a "referendum" inside Taiwan on its entry to the United Nations under the name of "Taiwan."

A spokesperson for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on 23 July that the UN Office of Legal Affairs had rejected the application for UN membership by Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian, saying that the decision was made in keeping with resolution 2758 of the UN General Assembly, which determined that the United Nations abides by the one-China policy.

On 31 July, China’s UN Ambassador Wang Guangya, in his capacity as the rotating president of the UN Security Council in July, rejected the Taiwan authorities’ application forwarded by representatives of Swaziland and the Solomon Islands to the United Nations.

The Chinese government condemned the Taiwan authorities’ secessionist attempts, including the application for UN membership and the referendum bid, as "ridiculous" and "doomed to failure."