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Academics say UN bid has turned the spotlight on Taiwan

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration's efforts over the past year for the country to enter the UN under the name Taiwan havve helped put Taiwan on the map, members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors (TAUP) said yesterday.

Speaking at a news conference marking the publication of TAUP observations on Taiwan's political climate this year, Hsu Chu-feng (許主峰), deputy secretary-general of the TAUP, said that the unprecedented UN bid initiated by the DPP administration has not only helped consolidate the national identity of the people of Taiwan, but also constitutes a successful diplomatic strike.

Hsu claimed that the UN bid efforts have forged a new, nationwide consensus. In turn this has helped consolidate the national identity of the people of Taiwan, and so the international community has for the first time heard the common voice of Taiwan's people, which is making the Beijing leadership unhappy.

Chen Chun-sheng (陳春生), an honorary professor with National Taiwan University's Graduate Institute of National Development, said that although the maiden bid for UN entry under the name Taiwan did not succeed, the motion was, for the first time, brought up for discussion by the UN General Assembly.

The number of international media reports on the bid was four or five times greater than that given to bids made by the ex-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration seeking to return the Republic of China to the UN, Chen said.

He claimed the DPP-initiated UN bid had significantly increased Taiwan's visibility in the international community.

On the issue of cross-strait relations, Chen said that rationally speaking, Taiwan is not the Republic of China.

He suggested that Taiwan return the outlying islands of Kinmen and Matsu, which are located closer to China than to Taiwan proper, to China and then found a Republic of Taiwan under the spirit of the UN Chapter.

He also suggested that the Taiwanese authorities bring those Kinmen and Matsu residents who recognize Taiwan to settle in Taiwan and resettle those Taiwanese residents who recognize the ROC to Kinmen and Matsu.

Chen said that both notions of the signing of a cross-strait peace accord and the drafting of an act governing peaceful engagement between Taiwan and China are pitfalls.

He also called on Taiwan's voters to remain alert to Chinese espionage, claiming that Chinese influence has already been felt in the upcoming presidential race and referendums.

Chuang Han-lin (莊翰林), a lecturer with the Minghsin University of Science and Technology, said Taiwan's hard-earned democracy will face an "unprecedented crisis" if the KMT and its allies win a majority of seats in the next legislature and if KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wins next year's presidential race.
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