Taiwan’s journey to joining the UN would be long and arduous. Under UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, passed on Oct. 25 1971, the UN recognized the People’s Republic of China as “the only legitimate representatives of China in the United Nations” and removed “the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek” (蔣介石). Although the resolution handed Beijing China’s seat in the UN, it did not state that Taiwan is part of China. Therefore, applying for UN membership under the name “Taiwan” remains feasible.
US President Joe Biden has continued former US president Donald Trump’s hardline policy on China and determination to safeguard freedom, openness and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and the Taiwan Strait. Although the US has changed its strategy toward China, Washington has not yet revised its diplomatic guidelines that state it would “continue to support Taiwan’s membership in international organizations where statehood is not a requirement and encourage Taiwan’s meaningful participation in organizations where its membership is not possible.”
Before applying for UN membership, Taiwan must urge the US to amend its policies to obtain its full support, and then seek to participate in the WHO, where Taiwan has the best chance to become a member. That would be the stepping stone for Taiwan to knock on the UN’s door.
Considering trilateral relations between Taiwan, the US and China, under the US’ bipartisan consensus of supporting Taiwan and resisting China, no matter whether US Vice President Kamala Harris or Trump is elected president in November, the US Congress would continue to pass Taiwan-friendly acts to further deepen Taiwan-US ties.
The US is expected to continue invoking the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 to bolster Taiwan’s resistance to China, supporting the nation’s participation in global bodies such as the WHO, the International Civil Aviation Organization and UNESCO.
However, Taiwan could only hope to participate in the World Health Assembly as an observer, with the support of the US, rather than as a WHO member.
Taiwanese representatives in the US should work with powerful overseas Taiwanese groups such as the Formosan Association for Public Affairs to improve ties with Taiwan-friendly members of the US Congress and support their election campaigns.
Building closer relationships with the US lawmakers, Taiwanese can lobby them to amend diplomatic guidelines to “support Taiwan’s membership in international organizations where statehood is a requirement.”
During the US presidential election campaign, the government should urge overseas Taiwanese to support pro-Taiwan candidates — as Israelis do — and try to make Taiwanese issues a focus of the election, to establish a Taiwan Strait policy and closer relations with the White House.
If this can be done, Taiwan might have a chance to join the WHO. Then, the nation would be able to use its expertise in public health to make significant contributions to the international community, paving the way to becoming a UN member.
Amid intense competition between the US and China, the Taiwanese government should not only seek to strengthen the discourse on the importance of Taiwan’s strategic status, but also use the US’ Taiwan Assurance and the Taiwan Travel acts to continue reinforcing interactions between high-level Taiwanese and US officials. The government should also use the Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue to build the Taiwan-US semiconductor supply chain. By deepening economic and trade relations, and establishing a closer, symbiotic relationship between the countries, Taiwan can increase its chances of joining the UN.
Michael Lin is a retired diplomat, formerly posted in the US.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of
RSS