As the UN General Assembly's annual debates ended in New York yesterday, over 20 of Taiwan's 28 allies asked that Taiwan be admitted to the UN as the legitimate representative of 23 million people on the island.
"It's our hope that all [27 of Taiwan's 28 diplomatic allies that have registered to speak during the general debate] would speak out for us," said a foreign ministry official yesterday evening.
Taiwan's only European ally, the Vatican, has maintained an observer status at the UN and is not entitled to take the floor during the meeting.
As of 7pm Taipei time yesterday, 21 of Taiwan's allies had voiced their support for the nation's UN membership bid, saying the world body could not say it had the full and effective participation of all people without differences or exclusions unless Taiwan was admitted.
"We should not continue to deny 23 million people who live in the Republic of China [the right] to be represented in the United Nations," Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Aleman told reporters on Tuesday.
Some lauded Taiwan as a constructive player in the global community with its ranking as the world's 17th largest economy in terms of GNP, the 15th most important trading nation, and its progress in human rights and democracy.
In voicing support for Taiwan on Nov. 13, Gambia's foreign minister, Baboucarr-Blaise Ismaila, Jagne said that, while the UN is to launch the Information and Communication Technologies Task Force, the body would lose the chance to "benefit from the expertise" of Taiwan as one of the world's IT leaders.
Panamanian Foreign Minister Jose Miguel Aleman, in contrast, only touched upon Taiwan's right to be represented at the UN. Aleman said he didn't want to produce unnecessary friction on matters that can be resolved through dialogue.
"One can examine the extent of ties between Taiwan and its allies through observing their statements during the session," the official said.
The Panamanian official said, however, that Taiwan should cherish the supportive statements made by its allies during the UN session.
Aleman said the length of time for each registered country to speak had been curtailed to fifteen minutes, half of the original plan, due to the rescheduled UN meeting in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
In 1971, Taiwan's delegation to the UN walked out of the organization just before other UN members voted to give the ROC's seat to the PRC.
Taiwan's 9th bid to re-enter the UN faltered in August. The failure prompted Taipei's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to warn of Beijing's apparently heightened maneuvers to block Taiwan's bid this year.
Currently, 186 UN members recognize Beijing while 28 recognize Taiwan.
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