For the last 14 years, Taiwan's application for UN membership under the name "Republic of China" has failed. This year, Taiwan applied for UN membership under the name "Taiwan" for the first time. The Taiwan UN Alliance (TAIUNA) sent a group to New York led by Cheng Ying-er (
Internationally, many people don't know that Taiwan is not a member of the UN and is blocked from becoming a UN member. This makes it difficult to consolidate the powers that can push for UN membership for Taiwan. The international support that we felt at the recent demonstration in the US inspired us deeply. A friend from the UK even told us he would remember Taiwan every Sunday in his prayers.
TAIUNA secretary-general William Lo (
Taiwan is currently participating in only 17 of the more than 700 existing international organizations. For the dignity of Taiwan's 23 million people, trying our best to win international acknowledgment is a responsibility that we cannot shirk.
If we lock ourselves up on our island and embrace passive defeatism, we will never get into the UN. We need to actively publicize Taiwan internationally. Our movie directors and athletes are world famous, and this should fill us with confidence about our own worthiness of becoming a UN member.
Pessimism and negativity and wallowing in self-pity cannot win Taiwan the respect of others.
Liao Lin Li-ling is the spokeswoman of the delegation "UN for Taiwan."
Translated by Anna Stiggelbout
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