Underscoring the nation's right to join the UN, President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen said on Sunday he had submitted a second letter to Ban last Friday, once again requesting UN membership under the name "Taiwan." Chen made the first application on July 18, but the UN Office of Legal Affairs rejected the letter, citing UN Resolution 2758.
Chen said that this time his letter was not only addressed to Ban but also to China's UN Ambassador Wang Guangya (
While other countries are able to call Taiwan "Taiwan," the nation cannot call itself by that name, Chen said, adding that it is unconscionable for the international community to consider the UN bid as an attempt to change the nation's name and to have a different opinion when it comes to membership at the WTO, where it uses the name "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu."
"We must come up with a different strategy to fight for the rights of the 23 million people of Taiwan," he said.
As a popularly elected presid-ent, Chen said he was duty-bound to safeguard the nation's sovereignty, dignity and safety. Taiwan is a sovereign state and is not part of the People's Republic of China, he said.
Huang also held a press meeting yesterday to announce he had sent his own protest letter to Ban last Thursday, stressing that Ban's interpretation of Resolution 2758 did not reflect the reality across the Strait and within the region.
Huang also addressed the concerns of the US State Department over the matter, explaining that Taiwan's application for formal UN membership did not violate the "four noes pledge" Chen made at his inauguration in 2000 because Taiwan's bid has nothing to do with changing the country's title.
"We applied for membership under the name `Taiwan' to differentiate us from China. `Taiwan' is the most direct means of identification used by the international community to refer to the nation," he said.
"Some countries use a name at the UN that differs from their official title. As such, Taiwan's UN bid does not signify a change in the commitment we made to the United States," he said.
Ban last week defended his rejection of the application, saying that Resolution 2758 "clearly mention[s] that the government of China is the sole and legitimate government and the position of the United Nations is that Taiwan is part of China."
In his protest letter, Huang said that the UN Charter stipulates that only the Security Council and the General Assembly have the authority to discuss and decide on UN membership applications and that the UN Secretariat does not have the discretion to reject such an application, Huang said.
"[Ban's] interpretation is incorrect, illegitimate and contradictory to regional realities. Therefore, it cannot and should not be taken as the legal basis to turn down our application," Huang said.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS