The UN is also founded on the championing of human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration…no distinctions shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional, or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs.” Why, then, do UN agencies ignore the rights of the 23 million people of Taiwan?
Most importantly, the UN was established to prevent war and promote peace. Why, then, has the UN turned a deaf ear to Taiwan’s pleas for dialogue and assistance when the Taiwan Strait is widely viewed as one of the world’s most dangerous flashpoints?
The answer to all of the above questions is the same: the world’s governments, as well as officials in international organizations, bow to pressure exerted by the rulers of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Beijing claims that Taiwan is a PRC province and must not be allowed membership in organizations that require statehood. Though relatively few countries have explicitly affirmed that claim, most of them apparently dare not openly repudiate it for fear of economic or other forms of retaliation. Fear of ruffling Beijing’s feathers pervades UN officialdom as well.
Proclaiming the determination of Taiwan’s people to take their rightful place in the UN and play a responsible role in achieving its exalted goals, President Chen Shui-bian submitted an application for membership to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on July 19. In response, the UN Secretariat returned the application, supposedly in keeping with “the one-China policy of the United Nations”, while citing General Assembly Resolution 2758.
This behavior bespeaks contempt for the UN Charter and UN procedural rules, which stipulate that the secretary-general shall automatically refer membership applications to the Security Council and, ultimately, the General Assembly. With the aforementioned action the Secretariat has co-opted the deliberative and decision-making powers of the member states his office is intended to serve.
The Secretariat’ s action is also disturbing because it grossly misconstrues both the nature of Taiwan’s membership application and the import of Resolution 2758. Taiwan’s application in no way constitutes a challenge to the right of the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to represent China, nor does Resolution 2758 state or imply that Taiwan is a part of China.
In light of the aforementioned facts, President Chen wrote a second letter to Secretary-General Ban on July 27, clarifying the basis for Taiwan’s application and requesting that the UN Secretariat follow the UN rules of procedure and pass the application on to the Security Council.
The peoples of Taiwan and China have strong cultural and linguistic bonds, their economies have become highly interdependent, and marriage between citizens of the two states is common. All of this bodes well for the gradual development of a mutually beneficial relationship.
Nonetheless, our two nations are vastly different. Taipei is open to discussion with any nation on any matter, and especially looks forward to establishing a framework for peaceful interaction between Taiwan and China. Beijing threatens and refuses to directly communicate with Taipei and bullies other nations and organizations into isolating Taiwan.
Such behavior is a recipe for disaster. Enlightened nations must realize this and support UN membership for Taiwan. At the very least, they must utilize the UN as a platform to facilitate communication between China and Taiwan in order to preserve and strengthen peace in East Asia.
Shieh Jhy-wey is Minister, Government Information Office, Taiwan
