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.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
New Party Deputy Secretary-General You Chih-pin (游智彬) this morning went to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to “turn himself in” after being notified that he had failed to provide proof of having renounced his Chinese household registration. He was one of more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China who were informed by the NIA that their Taiwanese citizenship might be revoked if they fail to provide the proof in three months, people familiar with the matter said. You said he has proof that he had renounced his Chinese household registration and demanded the NIA provide proof that he still had Chinese
RSS