UN turns down ROC’s application

Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian advocated that Taiwan should apply for membership in the United Nations as a “new formal member” under the name of “Taiwan” rather than the “Republic of China” after the UN General Assembly turned down its application for the 14th time. China objected to the application.

Speaking from the Office of the President in Taipei on Tuesday, Chen stated “Taiwan’s long-term exclusion from the UN abrogates the basic human right of the Taiwan people for equal participation in the international community and violates the principle of universality of membership expressed in the UN Charter.” {{more}}He however said that they needed to “seriously consider whether we should adopt a different strategy to promote Taiwan’s participation in the UN in the future.”

Chen related that in the wake of Taiwan’s democratization, the question of whether Taiwan should use the name of “Taiwan” to apply for UN membership arises.

Chen also stressed that only the duly elected government of Taiwan can legitimately represent Taiwan’s 23 million people in the UN.”

Chen stated that use of the R.O.C. moniker “will result in getting bogged down in the irrelevant debate over the issue of the representation of China” while the use of “Taiwan” will “clarify the fact that there are two countries on either side of the Taiwan Strait.”

Chen stressed that the use of the name of Taiwan should also show that Taiwan has no intention of challenging the UNGA Resolution 2758 of October 1971 which mandated the entry of the PRC into the UN, but had not resolved the issue of the representation of the 23 million people in Taiwan.

Chen concluded that “the use of ‘Taiwan’ to apply for entry into the UN is the best option for the people of Taiwan to participate in the international community” and suggested that “it might be a good idea to hold a referendum in Taiwan on this issue.”