section_path: Criticism/Exclusion of countries
section_name: Exclusion of countries
paragraph_text: Exclusion of countries
  
  After World War II, the French Committee of National Liberation was late to be recognized by the United States as the government of France, and so the country was initially excluded from the conferences that created the new organization. Future French president Charles de Gaulle criticized the UN, famously calling it a machin (contraption), and was not convinced that a global security alliance would help maintain world peace, preferring direct defence treaties between countries.
  
  Since 1971, the Republic of China, also known as Taiwan, has been excluded from the UN and consistently denied membership in its reapplications. Critics allege that this position reflects a failure of the organization's development goals and guidelines, and it garnered renewed scrutiny during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Taiwan was denied membership into the World Health Organization despite its relatively effective response to the virus. Support for Taiwan's inclusion is subject to pressure from the People's Republic of China, which regards the territories administered by Taiwan as their own territory.