A resolution promoting UN membership for Taiwan has been introduced into the US House of Representatives.
“It is the sense of [the US] Congress that Taiwan and its people deserve membership in the United Nations,” resolution HCR76 reads.
The resolution was introduced on Thursday by US Representative Scott Garrett, a Republican, and was timed to proceed next week’s opening of the annual UN General Assembly session in New York.
“For more than 50 years, a close relationship has existed between the United States and Taiwan, which has been of major economic, cultural and strategic advantage to both countries,” the resolution says.
It adds that Taiwan has repeatedly expressed its “strong desire” to participate in the UN and that nothing in the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act supports the exclusion or expulsion of Taiwan from membership in any international financial or other international organization.
“Taiwan fulfills all conditions for statehood — a permanent population, a defined territory, government and capacity to enter into relations with other states,” Formosa Association for Public Affairs president Mark Kao says.
He says there are no legal obstacles for Taiwan to join the UN.
“China opposes Taiwan’s membership because it would constitute international recognition of the reality that Taiwan is an independent country,” Kao says. “It is time for the international community to form a coalition to jointly stand up against China and support Taiwan’s entry into the UN.”
A rally is being organized this weekend by the Taiwanese-American community to march from the UN Plaza to Times Square in support of the Taiwan’s UN membership.
In addition, a “sit-in” at the UN’s Dag Hammarskjold Plaza is being planned for Sept. 25 to coincide with the Pope’s visit to the UN.
“The organizers and supporters of these events wish to inspire others to ignite change and awareness regarding Taiwan’s recognition in the global community,” a statement from a group identifying itself as the “Keep Taiwan Free Movement” says.
Another group, called the Taiwan United Nations Alliance and led by former minister of national defense Michael Tsai (蔡明憲), arrived in Washington from Taipei this week and is now in New York to also lobby for UN membership.
Taiwan has not been a member of the UN since 1971, and under pressure from China, the UN has denied Taiwan membership under its official name “the Republic of China” since 1993.
China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and perfectly placed to veto any attempts by Taiwan to rejoin.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
RSS