Nine of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies yesterday called on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to include the nation in the deliberations about technology and sustainable development at the UN Summit for the Future.
The 79th session of the UN General Assembly opened on Tuesday last week, with the high-level General Debate to run from Tuesday to Saturday next week.
The joint letter, dated Thursday, said the UN should acknowledge and address the malicious distortions to UN Resolution 2758 that have endangered the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
Photo: EPA-EFE
UN Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative” of China, but does not state that it has sovereignty over Taiwan, as Beijing has insisted.
UN Resolution 2758 did not exclude Taiwan from meaningful participation in the UN system, the letter said, adding that the UN should seek appropriate measures to allow the nation’s contribution to the UN’s sustainable development goals.
The UN is called upon to adhere to strict neutrality in disputes by stopping the resolution’s erroneous citation, which had been used to deprive the right of the Taiwanese public and media to attend, observe or report on UN proceedings, the letter said.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Permanent Representative to the UN Inga Rhonda King was cited as saying it is unthinkable to exclude Taiwan from deliberations surrounding the Pact for the Future and Global Digital Contract.
Taiwan, which produces 90 percent of the world’s high-end chips and is a leader in artificial intelligence, is not permitted to take part in discussions about building digital guardrails and supply chains, King said.
Guatemalan Permanent Representative to the UN Carla Maria Rodriguez Mancia said that her government hopes more nations would join in supporting Taiwan’s inclusion in the mechanisms of the international body.
The matter is too important for the international community to continue to neglect, Mancia said.
It would be topically appropriate to allow Taiwan, a democracy possessing freedoms and technology, to be part of this year’s discussions about the future, which would impact generations to come, she said.
Taiwan’s meaningful participation in UN mechanisms and agencies would be a pragmatic move to enable its contribution to world affairs including digital governance, natural disaster relief and climate change, Mancia said.
Belizean Permanent Representative to the UN Carlos Fuller said that Taiwan is one of the island nations most threatened by rising sea levels, making its exclusion from UN conferences on climate warming an important issue.
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York Director Tom Lee (李志強) said that Taiwan thanks its friends for their unwavering support for the nation’s bid to join the UN.
Diplomatic efforts this year would focus on correcting misconceptions about Resolution 2758, which has impeded Taiwan from contributing to the global push for sustainable development, he said.
Taiwan aims to open 18 representative offices and seven Taiwan Tourism Information Centers worldwide by next year to attract international visitors, the Tourism Administration said on Saturday. The agency has so far opened three representative offices abroad this year and would open two more before the end of the year, it said. It has also already opened information centers in Jakarta, Mumbai and Paris, and is to open one in Vancouver next month and in Manila in December, it said. Next year, it would also open offices in Amsterdam, Dubai and Sydney, it added. While the Cabinet did not mention international tourists in its
EYES AT SEA: Many marine enthusiasts have expressed interest in volunteering for coastal patrols, which would help identify stowaways and illegal fishing, the CGA said Six thousand coastal patrol volunteers are to be recruited for 159 inspection offices to enhance the nation’s response to “gray zone” conflicts, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) sources said yesterday. Volunteer teams would be established to increase the resilience of coastal defense systems in the wake of two unlawful entries attempted by Chinese over the past three months, Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. A former Chinese navy captain drove a motorboat into the Tamsui River (淡水河) in Taipei on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, while another Chinese man sailed in a rubber boat into the Houkeng
NEXT LEVEL: The defense ministry confirmed that a video released last month featured personnel piloting new FPV drone systems being developed by the Armaments Bureau Taipei and Washington are pushing for their drone companies to work together to establish a China-free supply chain, the Financial Times reported on Friday. A delegation of high-level executives and US government officials were yesterday to arrive in Taipei to discuss with their Taiwanese counterparts collaboration on drone technology procurement and development, the report said. The executives represent 26 US manufacturers of drone and counter-drone systems, while the officials are from the US Department of Commerce and the US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit, along with Dev Shenoy, principal director for microelectronics in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense
‘ANONYMOUS 64’: A national security official said that it is an attempt by China to increase domestic anti-Taiwanese sentiment and inflame cross-strait tensions The Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM) yesterday denied accusations by China that it had undermined regional security by carrying out cyberattacks against targets in China, adding instead that Beijing was responsible for raising tensions and undermining regional peace. The Chinese Ministry of State Security on WeChat accused a hacker group called “Anonymous 64” of targeting China, Hong Kong and Macau starting earlier this year through frequent cyberattacks. The group carried out cyberattacks to seize control of Web sites, outdoor electronic billboards and video-on-demand platforms in China, Hong Kong and Macau, it said, adding the hackers’