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
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January last year have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
STREAMLINED: The dedicated funding would allow the US to transfer equipment to Taiwan when needed and order upgraded replacements for stockpiles, a source said The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a defense appropriations bill totaling US$838.7 billion, of which US$1 billion is to be allocated to reinforcing security cooperation with Taiwan and US$150 million to replace defense articles provided to the nation. These are part of the Consolidated Appropriation Act, which the US House yesterday passed with 341 votes in favor and 88 against. The act must be passed by the US Senate before Friday next week to avoid another government shutdown. The US House Committee on Appropriations on Monday unveiled the act, saying that it allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative
RSS