KMT Legislator John Chang (章孝嚴) yesterday stood up to defend his grandfather, the late president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), whose "one China" policy has been blamed for Taiwan's expulsion from the UN in 1971, saying such criticism was a distortion of history.
He urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which he said has a comprehensive collection of files and data regarding the event, to make a public clarification of the facts.
Chang made the call after Chen Lung-chu (陳隆志), a national policy advisor to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), claimed on Monday that Taiwan would have been able to remain in the UN if Chiang had not rejected the "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan" options.
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUI, TAIPEI TIMES
Disapproving of Chen's remarks, Chang, a former minister of foreign affairs, said the late president had "tacitly allowed" the US to put forward a proposal of granting dual representation to China -- which would have allowed both Taipei and Beijing to enjoy their own UN seats -- in 1971.
The US proposal was not put to a vote due to opposition from Beijing's allies in the world body, according to Chang.
In a last-ditch effort, the US then asked to vote in two stages on an Albania-proposed bill to admit the People's Republic of China (PRC) at the expense of the Republic of China (ROC), but this proposal failed to pass the UN floor, Chang said.
According to the US demand, the UN should first have voted on whether to exclude the ROC and should then have voted on whether to admit the PRC.
As to Chen Lung-chu's suggestion that Taiwan apply to join the UN as a "new full member," Chang said the proposal is unrealistic and no more than a pipe dream, in light of the fact that PRC is a permanent member of the Security Council and has a veto.
Chen, who has studied the UN issue for more than three decades, said yesterday that even if the "double seats to China" proposal had indeed been raised in with the "tacit approval" of Chiang in 1971, it was proposed too late.
If Taiwan had prepared earlier, it could have reached a deal with the PRC to prevent its ouster, Chen said.
Chen said he had raised a "one China, one Taiwan" proposal a few years before that, and Saudi Arabia -- then a close ally of the Chiang regime -- had secretly helped persuade Chiang to accept the plan.
But Chiang then firmly rejected the plan, Chen said.
There would be problems for Taiwan to apply to join the UN as a new full member, but such a move would enable Taiwan to exhibit clearly its appeal as an independent sovereign state, Chen said.
Before filing the application, Chen added, Taiwan would need to work hard to lobby other Security Council members, especially the US, to ensure that they at least maintain neutral even if they do not support Taiwan immediately.
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