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Present 'Taiwan' to the Assembly

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has announced it is applying for membership in the UN under the name "Republic of China (Taiwan)" this year. However, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has also discussed using the name "Taiwan" on its own. In so doing, the nation could apply for UN membership as a new member state and ask the General Assembly to re-examine UN Resolution 2758.

When applying as a new member state, the government can use either the name "Taiwan" or "the Republic of China." Until "the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石)" were expelled from the UN in 1971, Taiwan represented China.

Therefore, Taiwan will run into problems if it attempts to enter the UN under the name "the Republic of China."

To gain entry into the UN, Taiwan's only option is to use the name "Taiwan."

A new member state must be recommended by the Security Council and then acquire approval from two-thirds of the General Assembly to gain admission to the UN.

In addition, recommendation by the UN Security Council must be supported by nine of all 15 members, including the approval of the five permanent members.

So, if a permanent member of the Security Council vetoes the application, the Security Council recommendation will be blocked. An application for UN membership as a new member state is therefore bound to be vetoed by China, which means that an application under the name "Taiwan" is unfeasible in that arena.

Another tactic involves Resolution 2758. The 1971 resolution awarded the "China seat" to the People's Republic of China.

We could emulate the US Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which draws a distinction between the Taiwanese government and the Taiwanese people. In 1979, Washington terminated diplomatic ties with Taiwan but enacted the TRA to maintain a relationship between the people of the US and the people of Taiwan. Following this line of thinking, the UN expelled the Taiwanese government -- "Chiang's representatives" -- but not the Taiwanese people.

Thus, in 1971, the People's Republic of China gained entry to the UN. This addressed the Chinese people's right to be represented in the UN, but it created a new problem of how Taiwanese would be represented. Since the government is now requesting that the General Assembly resolve the issue, it should of course apply under the name "Taiwan."

Permitting or blocking national representation through the General Assembly is not without precedent.

And the benefit of using Resolution 2758 is that the UN General Assembly can decide on the issue of Taiwan's UN membership without requiring a recommendation from the Security Council, where China can exercise its veto.

The government must, however, use the name "Taiwan" rather than "Republic of China, Taiwan" that it is using now.

Chai Trong-rong is a Democratic Progressive Party legislator.

Translated by Daniel Cheng
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