Taiwan is to call for greater participation in UN-related organizations through allies’ speeches, official letters and other methods when the 72nd UN General Assembly opens in New York today.
Taiwan would ask its diplomatic allies to speak out in support of the nation’s meaningful participation in UN-affiliated agencies, as has been the case in previous years, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Paul Chang (章文樑) said yesterday.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) will ask permanent representatives of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies to the UN to send a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to explain the pressing need to include Taiwan in UN-affiliated agencies, Chang told a news conference.
Photo: CNA
However, unlike in previous years, Taiwan will also make three demands to press the UN not to forget the 23 million Taiwanese who have been neglected by the world body for decades, he said.
First and foremost, Taiwan is an important partner in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Chang said, and called on the UN not to reject Taiwan in line with the principle of true universality.
Second, the measures barring Taiwanese from UN meetings should be lifted in view of the values of diversity, equality and freedom symbolized by the body, he said.
Taiwanese have been barred from attending meetings and conferences held at the UN’s New York headquarters and the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, unless they show a Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Residents, Chang said.
The permit is issued to Taiwanese by Beijing for travel across the Taiwan Strait.
“The unreasonable measure should be revoked as soon as possible,” Chang said.
Finally, the government is urging the UN to include Taiwan because of its achievements in realizing the SDGs through its participation in a series of thematic discussions based on the UN Agenda for Sustainable Development 2030, Chang said.
As part of Taiwan’s appeal, Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee (李大維) has written an article, titled Taiwan, a Valuable Partner for SDGs — True Universality, for use in international media, Chang said.
The foreign ministry has also released a short film, titled Taiwan: A Partner for a Better World, online.
Other events would also be held during the UN session in New York, including a seminar hosted by Environmental Protection Administration Minister Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) and activities organized by civic groups, he added.
“The government calls on the UN squarely face the issue of the right of the 23 million Taiwanese to participate in the organization and immediately stop these discriminatory measures before both sides find a mutually acceptable approach for Taiwan to attend UN-affiliated organizations,” Chang said.
Taiwan lost its UN membership in 1971 with the passage of a resolution recognizing the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate representative of China to the international body.
The government in 1993 launched an annual campaign to reclaim the UN seat.
In 2007, then-president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) Democratic Progressive Party administration sought UN membership under the name “Taiwan,” but was not successful.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration from 2008 to last year did not apply for UN membership, instead pursuing meaningful participation in UN-affiliated organizations.
Since becoming president in May last year, President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration has adopted an approach similar to that of the KMT government, asking diplomatic allies to speak at the UN in support of Taiwan’s “meaningful participation.”
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by