Although Taiwan has failed to have discussion of its UN membership included on the UN General Assembly agenda this year, President Chen Shui-bian's (
"Chen's video conference with the UNCA was successful," said Chin Heng-wei (金恆煒), a political commentator and editor-in-chief of Contemporary Monthly magazine. "The staging of the teleconference, has clearly conveyed to the international community Taiwan's appeal to join the UN."
Chen, in the one-hour video conference which took place on Wednesday to coincide with the commencement of the 59th UN General Assembly plenary session, shared with the international press Taiwan's appeal to join the world body.
In his speech Chen stressed that Resolution 2758, which recognized the People's Republic of China (PRC) as the representative of the people of China and its subsidiary organizations, has been misinterpreted to block Taiwan from UN membership, and thus deprive its 23 million people of their basic human right to participate in the UN family.
According to the Government Information Office (GIO), which helped organize the satellite news conference, Chen's meeting with the UNCA drew more international media attention than expected.
The GIO had so far documented 39 reports made by international media on the event, including 12 in North America, 13 in Europe, 11 in Asia and the Pacific, and three in Central and South America.
CNN aired Chen's video conference remarks as well as the GIO's ads on Taiwan's UN bid on its Diplomatic License program this past weekend.
"Judging from the coverage ... by international media groups ... I would certainly say [the teleconference] was a success, despite the nation's failing bid to join the UN this year," Chin said, adding that China's obstruction had actually worked to enhance the international media's interest in the event.
Chin was referring to Beijing's interference in the UNCA's original plan to host the satellite news conference at the association's club room at UN headquarters. The UN secretariat barred the event, however. Under pressure from China, the secretariat said holding the video conference on UN property would violate the UN resolution that recognized the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate representative of China at the UN. It suggested that the association hold the teleconference somewhere else.
In the end, organizers were forced to relocate the video conference to the UN Plaza Hotel, across from UN headquarters. The event was not hosted by the UNCA, but rather the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in New York.
"People don't like to see conflict," Chin said. "when conflict does arise, however, through the process of it all, it highlights the issue even more and people have a better glimpse of the issue."
Political watchers also noted the change of strategy in the nation's campaign to join the UN family.
By arguing that UN Resolution 2758 did not address Taiwan's status, Chen worked to de-link the PRC's UN representation with Taiwan's own pursuit of UN membership, according to Holmes Liao (
Although saying the GIO's outdoor billboards in Manhattan promoting Taiwan's UN bid were notable, Chin said the climax of this year's UN campaign had been Chen's conference with the international press. It highlighted the sovereign status of the nation while underscoring Beijing's incessant move to squeeze Taiwan's diplomatic space.
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