Three of Taipei’s diplomatic allies on Tuesday voiced support for the nation’s inclusion in the UN at the organization’s General Assembly.
The leaders of Paraguay, the Marshall Islands and Guatemala made the call on the first day of the General Debate.
Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez said that all partners around the world need to join hands to address global problems.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“Therefore, my country emphatically reiterates its support for the request of the Republic of China to be an integral part of the United Nations system,” he said.
He also extended his sympathies to Taiwan, which was struck by a series of earthquakes over the weekend.
Marshall Islands President David Kabua condemned China’s unprecedented large-scale drills around Taiwan early last month following US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei.
Such behavior “threatened to disrupt peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region and across the globe,” said Kabua, who visited Taiwan in March.
Kabua pleaded for Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN system, urging the international organization to be “truly universal, all-embracing and all-inclusive,” instead of “leaving any nation or people outside the gate and in the cold.”
“Today, we call on the UN to better welcome Taiwan and its people into our global family,” he said, chiding the UN for its decades-long persistence in denying membership to Taiwan due to politics.
Calling Taiwan a vibrant and responsible democracy, and a contributing member of the global family, Kabua said the UN circle of unity would remain incomplete without Taiwan and its people.
“With the ability for meaningful participation in the UN system, and to make greater contributions, Taiwan can better join all of us to make a collective difference,” he said.
He also asked the UN to allow holders of Taiwanese passports to enter UN offices and headquarters.
Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei said his country is one of the founding members of the UN and has supported the organization in fostering multinationalism.
He called on the UN to conduct reforms “to ensure the right for Taiwan to belong to this organization and also recognize it as a nation.”
Taiwan’s right to join the UN as a nation “has been denied by one of the permanent members of the [UN] Security Council,” Giammattei said, referring to China.
Honduran President Xiomara Castro, who is making her first appearance at the UN General Assembly this year after assuming office in January, did not mention Taiwan in her address.
Although the Central American ally has not raised the Taiwan issue at the UN in seven consecutive years, it regularly joins Taiwan’s other allies in sending letters to the UN secretary-general in support of the nation’s inclusion in the UN.
The leaders of two other diplomatic allies — Eswatini and Palau — were scheduled to address the General Debate yesterday.
The government said it had asked the nation’s 14 diplomatic allies and like-minded countries to call for the nation’s inclusion in the UN this year, either by speaking during the General Assembly or sending a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Side events launched by Taiwan’s representative office in New York are to be held during the assembly, which concludes on Tuesday next week.
A delegation of Taiwanese legislators also visited New York to advocate for the nation’s inclusion in the UN. It is the first time that Taiwanese legislators have visited the city since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Taiwan was expelled from the UN in 1971, when the international body recognized Beijing as the sole representative of China.
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