Changing the country's name from the Republic of China (ROC) to Taiwan will do little to boost the nation's chances of entering the UN this year but is a necessary step to building internal consensus, academics said.
Last month, Taiwan's diplomatic allies submitted a joint proposal to the UN in support of the country's entry to the organization.
The proposal asked the UN General Assembly to include a supplementary item entitled "Question of the Representation of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in the United Nations" on the agenda of its 58th session, slated to begin on Sept. 16.
Tung Chen-yuan (童振源), an assistant research fellow at the Institute of International Relations of National Chengchi University, said Saturday's march demanding the country's name rectification was unlikely to be a significant factor in this year's bid, the 11th time Taiwan has attempted to rejoin the global body.
"The best result the march could have attained in terms of boosting the country's bid to join the UN was to let international society see the unreasonableness of excluding Taiwan from the body," Tung said.
"However, the present difficulties Taiwan faces in the international community are unlikely to evaporate because of the march," Tung said.
A national security insider said that whether Taiwan would be able to grow in the international society after changing its name was "debatable."
The official said that based on the current international situation, Taiwan would find it difficult to get into the UN.
"No matter what strategy Taiwan adopts, its chances of entering the UN are very low," the official said.
"China, which has never recognized the ROC, will not approve any name Taiwan may seek to use," the official added.
Richard Shih (石瑞琦), spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said rectifying the country's name was a big issue.
"We have managed to use `Taiwan' wherever possible. In missions abroad, we use `Taiwan' only when both we and the country where the mission is located agree to adopt the name," Shih said.
Lin Shih-chia (
"The first difficulty comes from within our nation. The other comes from international society," Lin said.
While Taiwanese are not clear about their national identity, it is hard to expect foreigners to have a clear notion of who Taiwanese are, Lin said.
To change the country's name, Taiwan will face pressure from international society because of Beijing's insistence on the "one China" principle, Lin said.
"None of my foreign friends call Taiwan `ROC.' They all call Taiwan `Taiwan,'" Lin said.
Changing Taiwan's name is not a battle of ideology, Lin said.
"We have to be practical," said Lin, adding that Taiwan's use of several names over the past few years to join the WHO caused considerable confusion.
Wu Chih-chung (
"As the `Republic of China' still contains the word `China,' the name is viewed as a challenge to the People's Republic of China," Wu said.
Wu said if Taiwan changes its name, it could face aggressive opposition from China.
"If so, Taiwan may have difficulty reaching further into the international community in the short term," he said.
However, changing the country's name could definitely help international society tell the difference between Taiwan and China, Wu said.
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