Welcome Taiwan into the United Nations

In an Era of UN Reform…
Right a 35-year Wrong

Welcome Taiwan into the United Nations

On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states,

"Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind... Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs..."

In a historic move to strengthen the United Nations' effectiveness in advancing this ideal, on March 16, 2006, the General Assembly passed a resolution to establish the Human Rights Council.

At a time when the affirmation and defense of fundamental human rights have become a universally acknowledged imperative, the Republic of China (ROC, widely known to the world as Taiwan), one of the world's staunchest champions of human rights, has been kept outside the UN door for 35 years. This exclusion deviates from the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ignoring the fundamental human rights of the 23 million people of Taiwan and keeping them from contributing more effectively to the cause of human rights protection and promotion.

This pamphlet summarizes the reasons why sovereign Taiwan is not, but surely should be, a UN member, how it contributes to the international community, and why its participation in the United Nations will make the world a better place.

Why is Taiwan not allowed to participate in the United Nations?

Resolution 2758 (XXVI) has not resolved the issue of the representation of Taiwan's 23 million people.

In 1949, the People's Republic of China (PRC) was established, and the ROC government relocated to Taiwan. Since then, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have been governed separately, with neither subject to the other's rule.

In October 1971, the PRC took over the seat held by the ROC in the United Nations following the passage of UN Resolution 2758, which resolved the issue of China's representation at the sacrifice of Taiwan's participation. The resolution has subsequently been misapplied to justify Taiwan's exclusion from the United Nations, and the rights and interests of its 23 million people have not been upheld and protected in the world body.

China has wielded its influence to squeeze Taiwan's international space.

In 1993, Taiwan began actively seeking participation in the United Nations. This campaign has been spearheaded by Taiwan's diplomatic allies in the UN General Assembly. However, China has capitalized on its permanent membership in the UN Security Council to block Taiwan's participation. In fact, China has relentlessly subverted Taiwan's efforts to play a constructive role in global community affairs. Recent examples of its obstructionism include the following:

• China refused to invite representatives from Taiwan to take part in the International Pledging Conference on Avian and Human Pandemic Influenza held in Beijing in January 2006, co-hosted by the European Commission and the World Bank. Taiwan had been invited to similar conferences, including those organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva in November 2005 and Tokyo in January 2006.
  
• Originally, Taipei and Beijing—the capital cities of Taiwan and China, respectively—were both members of the Asian Network of Major Cities 21 (ANMC 21), which was founded on the ideal of creating a forum for cooperation in dealing with the practical problems that East Asia's big cities share, free of unnecessary political complications. China's central government forced the Beijing municipal government to withdraw from the ANMC 21 and to cancel its hosting of the organization's 2005 plenary meeting. Why? Because the organization had voted at its 2004 meeting in Jakarta to hold the 2006 meeting in Taipei.
  
• Since Taiwan joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in January 2002, China has constantly pressured the WTO Secretariat to downgrade the status of Taiwan's representative office from Permanent Mission to Economic and Trade Office.

The campaign petition can be viewed here.