The 79th session of the UN General Assembly opens on Sept. 10, with the high-level General Debate on Sept. 24 to 28. As the world prepares for the exploration of solutions to intertwined global challenges to advance peace, security and sustainable development, let us remember that the key to global prosperity lies in unity and inclusivity.
The exclusion of Taiwan from international organizations hinders the world’s ability to develop comprehensive and effective solutions to a growing set of transnational issues.
As world leaders gather in New York, they should deliberate the impact of Taiwan’s exclusion from these bodies and search for new ways to bring Taiwan to the table. The General Assembly presents an opportune moment for world leaders to confront the implications of Taiwan’s exclusion from UN bodies, namely the WHO, the International Civil Aviation Organization and Interpol.
Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN and other appropriate international organizations is important for the nation, the US and the world at large. Ignoring Taiwan’s existence is leading to increasingly farcical consequences.
The US and its allies should stand up and advocate for Taiwan’s participation in international forums such as the UN.
Kent Wang is advisory commissioner for the Overseas Community Affairs Council, Republic of China (Taiwan) in the US.
Having lived through former British prime minister Boris Johnson’s tumultuous and scandal-ridden administration, the last place I had expected to come face-to-face with “Mr Brexit” was in a hotel ballroom in Taipei. Should I have been so surprised? Over the past few years, Taiwan has unfortunately become the destination of choice for washed-up Western politicians to turn up long after their political careers have ended, making grandiose speeches in exchange for extraordinarily large paychecks far exceeding the annual salary of all but the wealthiest of Taiwan’s business tycoons. Taiwan’s pursuit of bygone politicians with little to no influence in their home
US lobbyist Christian Whiton has published an update to his article, “How Taiwan Lost Trump,” discussed on the editorial page on Sunday. His new article, titled “What Taiwan Should Do” refers to the three articles published in the Taipei Times, saying that none had offered a solution to the problems he identified. That is fair. The articles pushed back on points Whiton made that were felt partisan, misdirected or uninformed; in this response, he offers solutions of his own. While many are on point and he would find no disagreement here, the nuances of the political and historical complexities in
Taiwan faces an image challenge even among its allies, as it must constantly counter falsehoods and misrepresentations spread by its more powerful neighbor, the People’s Republic of China (PRC). While Taiwan refrains from disparaging its troublesome neighbor to other countries, the PRC is working not only to forge a narrative about itself, its intentions and value to the international community, but is also spreading lies about Taiwan. Governments, parliamentary groups and civil societies worldwide are caught in this narrative tug-of-war, each responding in their own way. National governments have the power to push back against what they know to be
The Ministry of the Interior late last month released its report on homes that consumed low amounts of electricity in the second half of last year, offering a glimpse of the latest data on “vacant houses” — homes using less than 60 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month. The report showed that Taiwan had 914,196 vacant houses, or a vacancy rate of 9.79 percent, up from 9.32 percent in the first half of last year and the highest since 2008, when it was 9.81 percent. Of the nation’s 22 administrative areas, Lienchiang County (Matsu) had the highest vacancy rate at 17.4
RSS