Taiwan's diplomatic allies Palau, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands and El Savaldor submitted letters to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UN Security Council President Pascal Gayama on Friday expressing their disapproval of the UN's rejection of Taiwan's application for UN membership under the name "Taiwan," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
The allies' ambassadors to the UN added their signatures to the letters, dated Aug. 2, and sent copies to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and representatives of member states in the security council, a ministry press release said. The letters request that Taiwan's application be processed "appropriately," the ministry said in a statement.
Chen sent a membership application letter to Ban on July 19, but the letter was returned by Ban on July 23 based on Resolution 2758, which UN officials said is the basis of the "one China" policy at the UN.
SECOND ATTEMPT
Chen sent another letter to Ban on July 31 urging him to reconsider his decision. Ban, who is on a visit to Haiti and Barbados, has not made an official response to Chen's second letter, although Farhan Haq, associate spokesman for the secretary-general, said on Friday that the second letter would also be returned and that the UN's position remained unchanged.
Critics of the move have contested Ban's legal authority in rejecting the application unilaterally without submitting it to the UN General Assembly for a debate and vote by UN members, a part of the application process that is not ruled out by Resolution 2758.
VIOLATION
In their letters, the allies accuse the UN Secretariat of violating UN protocol by not submitting Taiwan's application to the security council and the general assembly for review.
Palau, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands and El Savaldor are among Taiwan's staunchest allies, consistently advocating UN and WHO membership for the country.
"Our government expresses its sincerest gratitude to our allies for their help and support," the release said.
Meanwhile, Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA), a US-based pro-independence Taiwanese expatriate group, on Friday also voiced strong protest against Ban's decision not to process Taiwan's application for membership.
FACTS
In a letter addressed to Ban, FAPA president C.T. Lee (李青泰) rejected Ban's argument that the UN takes the position that "Taiwan is part of China" under Resolution 2758 adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971.
"This is contrary to the facts: If you read Resolution 2758 carefully, you will see that it does not even mention Taiwan," Lee said.
Under the resolution, the UN decided to recognize the representatives of the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate representatives of China to the UN and "to expel forthwith the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek (
Lee said that the issue addressed in the resolution was "which government represented China" and that it is wrong to equate the "representatives of Chiang Kai-shek" with Taiwan.
"Chiang and his representatives were not expelled in 1971 because they represented Taiwan. They were expelled because they claimed to represent China," Lee said.
TREATY
On Taiwan's status, Lee referred Ban to the San Francisco Peace Treaty, in which Japan formally ceded sovereignty over Taiwan.
Lee pointed out that delegates at the San Francisco conference concurred that the status of Taiwan needed to be determined "in due time, in accord with the purposes and principles as laid down in the Charter of the United Nations."
Urging Ban to reconsider his position, Lee said Taiwan is a democratic nation that fulfills all the criteria for a nation-state as defined in the 1933 Montevideo Convention.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS