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EDITORIAL: Ma’s UN policy yields to China

Instead of bidding for UN membership this year, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government said it would work to seek “meaningful participation” in the UN’s affiliated agencies.

Doing away with the policies of entering the UN under the name “Taiwan” or returning under the name “Republic of China” (ROC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the new approach was based on the principles of pragmatism and flexibility.

While the ministry’s reasoning might sound levelheaded and practical, a closer look leads one to wonder whether the latest change of strategy is yet another attempt by the KMT government to play word games to avoid ruffling China’s feathers.

The UN’s auxiliary agencies include the Universal Postal Union (UPN) and the WHO. The ROC had been a member of the UPN since 1914 when Taiwan’s seat was taken over by the People’s Republic of China in 1972 after the UPN chose to shift recognition to Beijing. However, the change did not affect the ability of Taiwan’s Chunghwa Post to maintain international postal deliveries.

In other words — using the vocabulary of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration — Taiwan has been able to engage in “meaningful participation” in the UPN for years despite not being an official member. So why bother?

Taking the WHO as another example, China’s obstruction has for years prevented Taiwan from gaining membership in the world health body. In June this year, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Chairman Wang Yi (王毅) said that China would never accept Taiwan becoming a member of the WHO, but would look into setting up an international network that could be a “new framework” independent of the WHO to include Taiwan on information-sharing in case of disease outbreaks.

So how would the Ma administration be able to determine whether it achieved success in realizing Taiwan’s “meaningful participation” in the UN’s affiliated agencies?

If Taiwan’s so-called “meaningful participation” in UN agencies means doing what China tells it to do, then the KMT government might as well announce that Taiwan is part of China, which would guarantee Taiwan’s participation in the UN and its agencies.

Speaking to reporters about the country’s latest UN strategy, Ma said that no matter what the details of the UN bid might be, it should be achievable and uphold Taiwan’s dignity.

“We will take this into consideration and then make a proposal that will not only achieve our goals, but will also not affect other diplomatic interests or the interests of cross-strait relations,” he said.

While some may consider Ma’s remarks a reflection of his desire not to harm cross-strait relations, what they boil down to — much to China’s delight — is Ma tying Taiwan up in ribbons and handing it over to China to make the call.

All in all, the latest UN approach misses the key point, which is working to have the people of Taiwan treated with respect and having their voice represented at the UN.
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