The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday it was regrettable that the UN had once again rejected a letter submitted by a group of Taiwan allies expressing support for Taiwan's UN bid. As a sovereign and independent country, Taiwan has every right to be part of the global body, the ministry said.
The UN Office of Legal Affairs yesterday returned a joint petition letter submitted by 12 allies of Taiwan -- St. Vincent, Palau, Gambia, Sao Tome and Principe, the Solomon Islands, Swaziland, Nauru, Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands, St Christopher, Belize, and St Lucia -- citing UN Resolution 2758 as the reason to bar Taiwan from joining the organization.
The letter, addressed to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, stated that the global body had wronged Taiwan repeatedly by using resolution 2758 to justify its denial of Taiwan's right to participate.
"It is very regrettable for the UN to continue using resolution 2758 as its basis to reject Taiwan's bid. The resolution never clearly stated the relationship between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Taiwan. Moreover, it does not authorize Beijing to represent the people of Taiwan at the UN," ministry spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) said.
Central News Agency reported yesterday that although the office had refused to review the letter, it did not use its usual "Taiwan is part of the PRC" rhetoric to explain its decision.
This represented the second time that the legal affairs office turned down a petition letter submitted by allies of Taiwan.
In October, the office used the "one China" principle to blackball the Taiwan issue from being discussed in the UN General Assembly.
In September, the UN Secretariat Office also returned a letter signed by President Chen Shui-bian (
The letter was never reviewed by the secretariat office or by the executive committee and was returned unopened with its original seal.
Yeh said Taiwan was very grateful to the 12 allies for continuing to support its bids.
Taiwan has tried to regain a seat at the international body ever since it forfeited its place in 1971 when the UN allowed the PRC to become a member.
On Saturday, voters will also be asked to voice their opinion on the matter through two referendums, one proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the other by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
The DPP proposal asks voters whether they agree the country should apply to the UN under the name "Taiwan," while the KMT asks whether they agree Taiwan should seek to rejoin the UN under the formal title of Republic of China or any other "practical" titles.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: As some roads would be fully or partially closed, people are advised to take the MRT, with services expanded to accommodate more riders This year’s Taipei Marathon, which has obtained its first gold label certification from World Athletics, is to be held from 5am to 1pm tomorrow and would have 28,000 participants. The race is to start from the Taipei City Plaza and would go through major roads throughout the city, with traffic control implemented from 6am to 2pm, officials said. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system and New Taipei City MRT Circle line would start operating at 5am on the day of the race, they said. The race would cover Renai Road, Xinyi Road, Hangzhou S Road, Aiguo east and west roads,
READY: The CGA said it closely monitored China’s maritime exercise, deployed vessels to shadow the Chinese ships one-on-one and set up emergency response centers Chinese navy and coast guard ships have returned to China, signaling the end of a massive maritime exercise, authorities said yesterday. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) released images it said showed Chinese vessels sailing north in rough seas past Taiwan on Thursday, on their way to China. “All the Chinese coast guard went back to China yesterday, so although they have not officially made any announcement, we consider it over,” CGA Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said. Beijing has not confirmed the drills and the Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not say whether the maneuvers had taken place when asked at a
Upon its completion next year, the new Tamkang Bridge (淡江大橋) in New Taipei City is to be an important landmark in Taiwan, alongside Taipei 101, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said today. The bridge is scheduled to be completed in December next year and open to the public in the first half of 2026, connecting New Taipei City’s Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里) districts. It is an asymmetric single-tower suspension bridge, nearly 70 stories tall, designed by world-famous architect Zaha Hadid. The bridge aims to alleviate traffic in Tamsui and on the Guandu Bridge (關渡大橋), in addition to increasing the
EXERCISES: A 2022 article by a Chinese intelligence expert identified at least six People’s Liberation Army assault boats hidden inside the Hong Kong-flagged ship A Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship that had been docked at Taichung Port and which previously took part in Chinese military exercises departed from the port on Saturday, the Taiwan International Ports Corp’s Taichung branch said yesterday. The statement came in response to a post on the social media platform X by Taiwan-based journalist Chris Horton that said the ship, the SCSC Fortune, had been docked at the port since Tuesday and questioned whether Taiwan has any rules regarding foreign civilian vessels that have participated in People’s Liberation Army (PLA) exercises. Horton referenced a 2022 article by Chinese intelligence expert Rod Lee that
RSS