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US opposes UN rejection of ratification

The US government does not support the UN's rejection of Taiwan's ratification of the UN convention on women's rights and plans to clarify the matter at an appropriate time, a US official was quoted as saying in a conversation with Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday.

Lu, who on Monday embarked on a 12-day visit to three of Taiwan's allies in Central America and the Caribbean, met American Institute in Taiwan Chairman Raymond Burghardt in San Francisco, where she stayed overnight.

Lu told reporters on the flight to the Dominican Republic that during her 40-minute conversation with Burghardt, she told him that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had rejected Taiwan's request to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, citing UN Resolution 2758 and claiming that the resolution states Taiwan is a part of China.

"This is a serious mistake," Lu was quoted as saying in a Central News Agency (CNA) report. "The US government will handle the matter in an active manner after Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the US, has reported the matter to the State Department."

Officials attending the meeting said Burghardt told Lu that the US could not agree with Ban and that Taiwan could advertise the US government's stance that it does not support Ban's citing the resolution to reject Taiwan's ratification.

Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission Minister Chang Fu-mei (張富美), who accompanied Lu on the trip, said the US government thought Ban's remark was inappropriate and wrong. The US government was also considering clarifying the matter at an appropriate time, she said.

As Taiwan is an independent state, Chang said the government could consider taking the case to the international court.

According to the CNA report, Lu said that China had misled the world by claiming that UN Resolution 2758 asserted that Taiwan was part of the People's Republic of China (PRC), but in fact the resolution fails to mention anything about Taiwan or the Republic of China.

Resolution 2758 only affirms the representation of the PRC, but not that of Taiwan, Lu said, adding that Taiwan could have a chance of joining international organizations if it clarified the resolution to the international community.

Additional reporting by Staff Writer
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