Taiwan's exclusion from the UN has not only caused the human rights of its 23 million people to be neglected, it also not conducive toward securing peace and stability in the region, Taiwan's top diplomat in New York said on Sunday.
Interviewed on Asian America, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York Director Andrew Hsia (
"In terms of the principle of universality prescribed in the UN charter, the UN cannot ignore the issue regarding peace in the Taiwan Strait as well as the voice of the Taiwan people," Hsia said.
PHOTO: CNA
Taiwan hopes to contribute to the international community through its participation in the UN, which has no reason to say "no" to Taiwan, Hsia said.
The diplomat also noted that Taiwan has no ambition to develop nuclear weapons or other destructive arms.
Hsia made the remarks while speaking to Ian Williams, an editor of the Congressional Quarterly Guide to the UN, who was hosting the segment of Asian America, which is a weekly 30-minute syndicated TV show on the Public Broadcasting System (PBS).
The envoy said that Taiwan, undaunted after having failed to enter the UN every year since 1993, again launched its bid for membership this year via its diplomatic allies, submitting two proposals calling for the UN to help maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait and pay attention to the representation of Taiwan's 23 million people at the UN.
China has been the only obstacle blocking Taiwan from becoming a UN member and from expanding its relations with the international community, Hsia said.
The Republic of China left the UN in 1971, when UN Resolution No. 2758 gave the China seat to Beijing.
While Resolution No. 2758 resolved the issue regarding China's UN representation, it did not address the representation of Taiwan's people, said Hsia, who has been playing a major role as Taiwan's voice in its UN bid.
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