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.”
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as