The leaders of the EU and of Taiwan’s four diplomatic allies on Friday expressed concern over the stability of the Taiwan Strait and voiced support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN during a meeting of the UN General Assembly.
The 77th UN General Assembly which began on Tuesday and ends tomorrow, is its first in-person session since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.
European Council President Charles Michel said the EU calls for maritime security and the preservation of stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Photo: AFP
Michel said the bloc recognizes Beijing’s “one China” principle, but “will not close our eyes to the violations of human rights” in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
“We want emerging powers, including China, to participate sincerely in the collective efforts for peace and development,” he said.
Michel’s remarks came just two days after US President Joe Biden said that Washington seeks to “uphold peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
Photo: CNA
Taiwan’s Caribbean ally Saint Lucia also expressed concern over tensions in the Taiwan Strait at the General Assembly.
St Lucian Prime Minister Philip Pierre said the recent escalation of military tensions in the Taiwan Strait had “threatened regional and international peace and security.”
“Saint Lucia calls upon those responsible to observe the UN rules on peaceful settlement of disputes and respect for the territorial integrity and political independence of all countries,” he said.
Pierre also championed “the meaningful participation of Taiwan in the organs and agencies of the United Nations,” adding that Taiwanese “ought to be allowed to continue their chosen path to economic, social and cultural development and to confirm their right to self-determination.”
St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Terrance Drew stated his country’s “unswerving support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the UN system.”
“Taiwan has been a long-standing friend and a partner for sustainable development,” he said.
He added that the UN would be “stronger” in the company of “those who share our democratic principles and values.”
Tuvaluan Prime Minister Kausea Natano said it is “regrettable” that Taiwan continues to be kept out of the UN system despite “its notable partnerships on a wide range of development issues.”
“Tuvalu strongly supports the readmission of the Republic of China, Taiwan, into the UN as a founding member of the United Nations, and its active participation in UN specialized agencies, including the World Health Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,” Natano said.
Belizean Prime Minister John Briceno said the Central American nation “calls for Taiwan to take its rightful place among the international community of nations.”
Taiwan is excluded from the international community, although efforts toward global prosperity require the participation of all countries and peoples, Briceno said.
“The outdated policy imposed on Taiwan to promote its exclusion must yield to the greater good,” he added.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare called on “all countries to be sensitive and not inflame tensions that can threaten the unity and security of any country.”
The Solomon Islands and Taiwan severed diplomatic ties in 2019, when the Pacific island state established diplomatic relations with China.
Sogavare defended his government’s decision to switch allegiance, saying it was made “through democratic processes by a democratically elected government.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei yesterday thanked the US, the EU and other like-minded nations for their discussion of Taiwan at the General Assembly.
China frequently claims that cooperation with Taiwan contravenes its so-called “one China” principle, and uses countries’ signs of support for Taiwan as justification for military aggression, it said.
However, the attention brought to the issue by the international community during the assembly has made it difficult for China to hide its undermining of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, it said.
“We call on all countries to continue to condemn Chinese aggression, and meanwhile we will continue to strengthen our self-defense capabilities, our security partnership with the US and to cooperate with all like-minded countries,” it said.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS