The government will be more pragmatic and flexible than its predecessor in pushing forward the nation’s bid to join the UN, a senior diplomatic official said yesterday.
Government agencies such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Security Council and the Mainland Affairs Council will meet later this month to discuss the issue, said the official, who wished to remain anonymous.
The official, who has been involved in matters relating to international organizations for more than 10 years, was responding to President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) recent remarks that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was studying a new approach to promoting the nation’s UN bid in line with the changing situation.
Ma said the two referendums on the country’s entry into the world body under the name “Taiwan” and “Republic of China” held alongside the March 22 presidential election had failed because neither attracted enough votes to make the outcomes binding. His administration would therefore adopt a new strategy to promote the country’s UN bid.
The official said the cross-strait situation changed after the inauguration of the Ma administration and that in the face of a “completely different atmosphere” it was necessary for the country to adjust the manner in which it promotes its accession to various international organizations such as the UN and the WHO.
Asked whether the nation would apply for UN membership under the name “Republic of China,” “Chinese Taipei” or other, more flexible names, the official said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was soliciting the opinion of experts and academics and exchanging views with other government agencies on the matter.
After an internal consensus on a new approach is reached, the government would consult with diplomatic allies as well as the US, Japan and the EU on its feasibility, the official said.
The official said, however, that it was unlikely the new administration would file an application for UN membership under the name “Taiwan” this year.
Because of Beijing’s obstruction, the nation has failed every year in its more than a decade-long bid to regain membership at the UN, which it gave up in 1971.
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