Taiwan and the US should jointly call on the UN to hold a hearing on UN Resolution 2758 and curbing China’s aggression, former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said yesterday in Taipei.
The UN General Assembly passed Resolution 2758 on Oct. 25, 1971, which states that the People’s Republic of China is the legitimate government of China, which led to it replacing the Republic of China in the UN.
However, the resolution “never mentioned ‘Taiwan,’” and the UN should not “allow the Chinese Communist Party to hijack a resolution and claim it’s about Taiwan,” Haley told a news conference.
Photo: Chiang Ying-ying, AP
Taiwan should request a hearing on Resolution 2758 and “the US should join [Taiwan] in requesting that hearing,” she said.
“I would call on all free countries everywhere to join them and to at least acknowledge the topic,” she added.
Haley said she hopes “the [UN] General Assembly, even if it is a sidebar event,” would hold an event on Taiwan, “not just to talk about them getting status at the UN, but to talk about the harassment they’re facing every single day from China and what the UN countries think that Taiwan should do about it.”
Although hearings are not part of the UN General Assembly, conducting such an event would raise global awareness of the issues surrounding Taiwan’s international status and the need to address Beijing’s incessant provocations, she said.
Turning a blind eye to the difficult situation facing 24 million Taiwanese is unbecoming for the UN as an organization that prides itself on upholding human rights, Haley said.
As the UN granted Palestine nonmember observer status, it should have no reason to oppose doing the same for Taiwan, a nation deserving of becoming a full member, she said.
The UN might have failed to condemn the harm Beijing inflicted on millions, but the world can still thank Taiwan for alerting the world to the COVID-19 pandemic and helping to fight it, she said.
The support for Taiwan and confronting the threat posed by China are among the few issues the US Republican and Democratic parties agree on, a consensus Haley said she hopes can be transformed into action.
In an opinion article in the Washington Post, former US vice president Mike Pence warned against the rise of isolationism and said that the US must not allow Taiwan to fall.
Haley, who had run against former US president Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination earlier this year, echoed Pence’s remarks, saying that the US cannot arrogantly assume it does not need friends, and making friends means being a friend.
“I don’t think the isolationist approach is healthy. I think America can never sit in a bubble and think we won’t be affected,” she said.
Being the leading voice and power in global affairs means the US has a responsibility to ensure world affairs develop in a positive direction, she said.
During her campaign, Haley called Trump unelectable and unfit for office, but last month she urged her supporters to vote for the former president. He faces the Democratic Party’s candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, in the Nov. 5 election.
Trump unnerved Taiwan in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek published last month, saying that “Taiwan should pay us for defense.”
The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer and weapons supplier. Despite lacking formal diplomatic ties, Washington is bound by the Taiwan Relations Act to provide the means for Taiwan’s defense.
“What I want to see the Republican Party talk about is freedom, standing with our allies and making sure that we show strength around the world,” Haley said yesterday. “We don’t want to see communist China win, we don’t want to see Russia win, we don’t want to see Iran or North Korea win.”
Additional reporting by Reuters and CNA
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS