Though the UN rejects Taiwan's UN bid, we will never give up!
Once again, the United Nations rejected Taiwan’s quest for membership of the world body this year, although Taiwan initiated a high-profile campaign this time.
This is the 15th consecutive year that Taiwan’s application for membership of the UN has been rejected. However, as what Taiwan’s diplomats said, Taiwan will not give up, since it took China 22 years to enter the world body in the past.
Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General, was asked why the UN could not consider Taiwan’s membership. Ban replied that it was legally impossible because the UN’s resolution 2758 had expelled the representatives of nationalist China.
Nevertheless, he hoped that the issue regarding Taiwan’s UN bid would be discussed at the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly opened this past Tuesday in New York. At a press briefing when Ban was asked his decision to return letters written by President Chen Shui-bian requesting Taiwan’s UN membership, he said “I hope that, accordingly, this question will have to be discussed by the member states.”
Last month, sixteen of Taiwan’s formal diplomatic allies submitted a motion to the UN General Assembly, requesting that the Security Council process Taiwan’s membership application in accordance with established procedures. They pointed out that resolution 2758 in fact resolved China’s representation only, but did not deal with the issue of representation of the 23 million people of Taiwan in the UN. ＊(Regarding the content of resolution 2758, kindly check our blog’s label under “Taiwan Facts.”)
On the other hand, the ruling DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun said Ban’s remark indirectly supported the prospect of Taiwan’s application for UN membership using the name of “Taiwan.”
According to Taiwan’s Vice President Annette Lu, the so-called “Republic of China” was founded in China in 1912, but “relocated” to Taiwan in 1949 after the Nationalists were defeated by the Chinese Communists. In her view, the ROC then became “Taiwan” in 1996, when the Taiwanese citizens were allowed to directly elect a president.
Even though the UN keeps blocking Taiwan’s UN bid, still, the majority of the Taiwanese as well as the government will continue to try to enter the world body until we reach the goal. The consensus is that to apply for UN membership, more effective and creative strategies will definitely need to be developed in the future.
4 comments:
Through reading your post, I predict that it is going to be a difficult task for Taiwan to gain U.N. membership. We must take into consideration the U.N. resolution 2758 enacted in 1971, which recognizes the People’s Republic of China as the main U.N. representative of all China. The U.N. cannot ignore or suddenly change its resolution because of one country. If the U.N. did decide to give Taiwan a seat, it would undermine the U.N.’s governing power and cause uproar in China. As many may know, the U.N. does not have absolute power over the international community, thus it cannot retract its resolution without upsetting China. China, as many may know, has gained a lot of power over the years. They hold and produce most of the world’s goods. It is possible that China may either stop its export of these goods or it may launch a full missile attack on Taiwan if the U.N. agrees to Taiwan’s bid. Though I believe it is unjustly that Taiwan cannot participate in the U.N., we must look at the larger picture. This matter goes beyond the fact that Taiwan cannot get a seat in the U.N.; it concerns the order of the global community and the prevention of nuclear warfare between China and Taiwan. I supposed that Taiwan can continue their attempts, but I hope they consider the possible repercussions to their actions.
I think even though it is hard but I know we as a nation is making an impact on the world. The world is now waking up and listening to what the Taiwanese people want and I think this is excellent for Taiwan!
Taiwan Taiwan Taiwan
GO GO GO!!!!
ps. Dr T. i don't know if you remember me... but I met you at the 2007 OCAC Young professionals. ^___^
i was the girl who saw you on Taiwan TV when I live in Australia
Hello Sherry,
Yes, I still remember you. Thank you for your and your family's support! Please tell your friends about this blog, so that they can know more about Taiwan's WHO and UN bids. Thank you and hope to see you soon in Taiwan!
Dr. T
Dear TP,
Thank you for your comments. Yes, we understand that it's a task for Taiwan to enter the world body. However, it is necessary to let the international community have a better understanding of Taiwan in general and the needs of the Taiwanese. Take Taiwan's WHO bid as an example, it's a critical issue and it's unwise to exclude Taiwan from the WHO when you think about the expansion of infectious diseases. Does China really need to oppose every request made by the Taiwan in the international arena just because of political reasons and for its own interests? Certainly, we hope that all sides can be wise enough to tackle these issues.
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