Exclusion of anyone harms efforts to achieve global development goals, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said on Friday when asked about Taiwan’s bid for UN participation.
World leaders are to meet next week at the annual high-level UN General Assembly, but Taiwan is excluded under a 1971 UN resolution that recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the legitimate representative of China to the UN.
Leaders are also to attend a summit on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals — a global “to-do” list created in 2015 that includes issues such as tackling the climate crisis, achieving gender equality and ending hunger and poverty.
Photo: Reuters
“I think exclusion of anyone holds back the goals,” Mohammed told reporters on Friday. “We said leave no one behind, and I think member states have to find a way to make sure that we are not in that position where we’re excluding people.”
“Every person matters, whether it’s Taiwan or otherwise, and I think it’s really important for member states to find a solution,” she said.
Asked about her remarks, China’s UN mission referred to a statement by Chinese Ambassador to the UN Zhang Jun (張軍) on Thursday.
“The so-called Taiwan’s participation in the UN is a false narrative through and through. First, there is but one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory,” Zhang said.
The 1971 resolution replaced the then-government of the Republic of China that had fled to Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War.
Proponents of Taiwan say the resolution never ruled out Taiwan’s participation.
UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said the UN upholds the “one China” policy, adding: “We don’t intend to leave any of the people of China behind and we support all of the people of China, but we stick by the one China policy.”
Later on Thursday, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York issued a statement in objection.
“The Republic of China (Taiwan) is an independent and sovereign democratic state,” it said. “Only Taiwan’s democratically elected government can represent its 23.5 million people in the UN system and the international community. The government of the PRC has no right to a say in the matter.”
Taiwan has long called on the UN to admit it as a member.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) told Foreign Policy in an interview on Thursday that it would be “very hard” for Taiwan to achieve membership, but that there was still hope.
“I think there is growing attention from the international community that there has to be peace between Taiwan and China and the best forum to discuss this issue will be the United Nations,” Wu said. ”So, keeping Taiwan out of the United Nations is immoral, is unjust and is something that we have to make change to.”
Representative to New Zealand Joanne Ou (歐江安) called on Wellington to support Taiwan’s bid for UN inclusion, saying that the UN “can serve as a platform to facilitate dialogue, de-escalate tensions and promote peace, if it can live up to its charter principles.”
In a letter published in The Post newspaper on Thursday, she said New Zealand’s first National Security Strategy indicated that Taiwan was a potential flashpoint and that New Zealand has a direct interest in the area.
“Taiwan has proven itself to be a reliable stakeholder and a capable contributor,” she wrote. “There is still time to prevent another invasion. Including 23.5 million Taiwanese people into the UN system is the first step.”
Representative to Indonesia John Chen (陳忠) on Friday wrote on local media platforms Medcom and Okezone that Jarkata and other nations should support Taiwan’s entry into the UN.
Taiwan is essential to global peace and security, the main producer of the world’s semiconductors, a port of call for half of all shipping cargo and a key link in global supply chains, he said.
A conflict in the Taiwan Strait would be a catastrophe for the glbal economy, he said, adding that the UN should act on the motto of its Sustainable Development Group: “Leave no one behind.”
Additional reporting by Yang Cheng-yu and CNA
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TRAINING: The ministry said 87.5 percent of the apprehended Chinese agents were reported by service members they tried to lure into becoming spies Taiwanese organized crime, illegal money lenders, temples and civic groups are complicit in Beijing’s infiltration of the armed forces, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a report yesterday. Retired service members who had been turned to Beijing’s cause mainly relied on those channels to infiltrate the Taiwanese military, according to the report to be submitted to lawmakers ahead of tomorrow’s hearing on Chinese espionage in the military. Chinese intelligence typically used blackmail, Internet-based communications, bribery or debts to loan sharks to leverage active service personnel to do its bidding, it said. China’s main goals are to collect intelligence, and develop a