The government has decided once again not to make any formal UN bids during the annual session of the UN General Assembly next month, Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) said yesterday.
This does not mean that the government has given up on its effort to participate in the UN, but that it has changed its strategy in accordance with changes in cross-strait and international situations, he said.
The government will continue to take a pragmatic approach toward Taiwan’s participation in the UN’s specialized agencies, he said.
Taiwan began trying to reenter the UN in 1993. In 2008, the government shifted strategy to promote a bid to “participate meaningfully in the activities of specialized UN agencies,” in line with President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) policy of flexible diplomacy.
Last year, it campaigned to take part in the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the International Civil Aviation Organization and that effort has won the support of many countries over the past year, Yang said.
For example, the US House of Representatives adopted a resolution on July 29 calling for observer status for Taiwan in the aviation group, something the European Parliament had called for in March, he said.
In related news, the annual conference of the 21-member Asian-Pacific Parliamentarians’ Union wrapped up in Tokyo on Wednesday with a joint communique backing Taiwan’s entry into a global climate treaty.
The union said in a statement that Taiwan should take part in the UNFCCC and that it would discuss the proposal again at its conference next year.
More than 70 parliamentarians from Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Kiribati, Micronesia and Palau attended the two-day event.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), who headed Taiwan’s 15-member delegation, told the closing ceremony that no single country was capable of devising a comprehensive solution to handle industrial development and environmental protection, because such an effort required the participation of all countries. Taiwan was ready to help in the effort, he said.
The Taiwanese delegates also met officials from Japanese political parties and the government during their time in Tokyo.
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