However, its reform involves the interests of various parties. Moreover, multipolarization in the world community is still in an early stage and has yet to become the norm. Right now, it is extremely difficult or even impossible to shape the pattern of the UN Security Council for the next half century. In this sense, it is still too early to decide on the reform plan of the UN Security Council.

I advocate a transitional solution. The UN Security Council should create not new permanent members but some "semi-permanent members" instead. By "semi-permanent members," I mean non-permanent members that do not enjoy veto power but could be re-elected. As long as a non-permanent member wins majority support, its term can be renewed indefinitely. In this way, although they may not hold the title of "permanent member," some countries could feasibly receive similar benefits. The permanent members also find this acceptable.

Through this solution, we would divide the members of the UN Security Council into three types. First would be the five permanent members—the United States, the UK, China, Russia and France. Second would be "semi-permanent members," which could include Japan, India and others. The third type would be other non-permanent members that can serve only one term. So far, it seems Japan is willing to accept this solution, but India is not. Neither are African countries. They request two permanent members with veto power among them. As it stands now, it is difficult to reach consensus.

What is the United Nations Association of China?

The United Nations Association of China is a nongovernmental organization. Its primary job is to promote the UN, the objectives of the UN Charter and China's UN diplomacy. We have a website (www.unachina.org) to introduce the development of the UN, China's involvement in the UN as well as the activities of our organization.

We also assist with Model United Nations activities in China. In the activities, students act as representatives of different UN member states, discussing one or several topics. In this way, we help the students gain a better knowledge of UN affairs. This year, we held the first Model United Nations training course.

We coordinate UN studies in China as well. We coordinate the research of different circles including universities and research institutions through hosting seminars and publishing books. So far, we have published two books based on these seminars: China's UN Diplomacy and UN: Toward a Harmonious World.

In addition, the United Nations Association of China trains working staff for the UN. The number of a member state's working staff in the UN Secretariat and its subsidiary institutions is proportional to the membership fee the member state pays. With the increase of China's membership fee, the number of Chinese people working in the UN will surge.

There are two ways one can go and work in the UN: One is through government recommendation and the other is through an examination. Every one or two years, the UN carries out competitive examinations in various countries to select potential staff directly. The training we are working on is for these examinations.

UN Agencies in China

United Nations Children's Fund

United Nations Population Fund

United Nations Development Program

World Food Program

Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

United Nations Industrial Development Organization

World Health Organization

International Labor Organization

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

United Nations Environment Program

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

United Nations Office for Project Services

World Bank

International Monetary Fund

International Finance Corporation

United Nations Development Fund for Women

United Nations Volunteers Program

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

International Fund for Agricultural Development

United Nations Asian and Pacific Center for Agricultural Engineering and Machinery

(Source: www.un.org.cn)