Twelve of Taiwan's diplomatic allies yesterday signed a petition protesting the UN's interpretation of UN Resolution 2758 and the world body's inappropriate listing of Taiwan as a province of China in a recent press release.
Two other allies -- Honduras and Kiribati -- filed separate protest letters.
Following the rejection of the Taiwanese government's first attempt to join the UN last year using the name Taiwan, the 12 allies delivered a petition to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sept. 25 asking the international body to process Taiwan's application through unbiased channels. The petition was returned by the UN at the end of October.
Dissatisfied with the UN's response, Taiwan's allies yesterday filed another petition to Ban's office in support of Taiwan's entry.
The 12 allies are St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Palau, Gambia, the Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, the Solomon Islands, Swaziland, Tuvalu, the Republic of Nauru, the Marshall Islands, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Belize and St. Lucia, the nation's newest ally.
Honduras and Kiribati, which do not have a representative office in the UN, decided to file separate letters.
In the letter, the allies said the UN had misinterpreted Resolution 2758 as stipulating that Taiwan was part of China. And in returning Taiwan's application to join the UN, the UN Secretariat had trespassed on the UN Security Council's jurisdiction.
The allies said they do not view Taiwan as part of China and support Taiwan's application as a new UN member. They asked Ban to be cautious about adopting advice and asked him to process Taiwan's application in accordance with the UN Constitution and UN Security Council regulations.
Kenneth Liao (廖港民), director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, who doubles as the head of Taiwan's UN working group, told the press that the nation's allies found the UN's treatment of Taiwan's application unacceptable, and that they voluntarily signed the latest protest.
The government also cannot accept the UN's handling of the issue, he said.
In response to the allies' prompt decision to take action during the Lunar New year instead of waiting until this summer, Liao said that Taiwan's UN working group in New York was already working like a UN permanent representative, and that participation in UN activities has already become a year-round activity for Taiwan.
The nation applied to join the UN under the name "Taiwan" for the first time during the UN's 64th General Assembly on Sept. 18 last year, but failed to gain admission. It marked the nation's 15th attempt to join the UN.
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
REASSURANCE: The US said Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed during the talk and that it remains steadfast in its support for the nation, the foreign minister said US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would bring up Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea this week. “I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump told reporters before he departed for his trip to Asia, adding that he had “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” Trump said. Taiwan has long been a contentious issue between the US and China.
FRESH LOOK: A committee would gather expert and public input on the themes and visual motifs that would appear on the notes, the central bank governor said The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said. It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards. “Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity
RSS