The nation’s campaign to rejoin the UN this year would highlight its achievements in containing COVID-19 and its commitment to multilateralism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.
The 75th session of the UN General Assembly is slated to open on Sept. 15 at the UN headquarters in New York City, with its general debate set to start on Sept. 22 under the theme “The Future We Want, the UN We Need: Reaffirming Our Collective Commitment to Multilateralism.”
The ministry’s campaign would highlight Taiwan’s willingness and ability to join the UN bid to curb the COVID-19 pandemic and revive the global economy through multilateral efforts, MOFA Secretary-General Lily Hsu (徐儷文) told a news conference in Taipei.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
It would also reiterate the nation’s three appeals: The UN should take immediate action to address the improper exclusion of 23.5 million Taiwanese from UN institutions, rectify its improper practices of depriving Taiwanese and the Taiwanese media of their rights to visit or attend events at UN premises; and ensure Taiwan can participate in mechanisms and events related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals through equal and dignified means, Hsu said.
As usual, the ministry would ask the nation’s diplomatic allies to speak up for Taiwan during the debate and write to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, she said.
The ministry would also hold General Assembly-related events at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in New York City, said Hsu, who was director-general of the TECO in New York before assumed her current post, adding that most of the events would be held virtually due to COVID-19-related crowd size restrictions.
On Sept. 23 last year, Hsu was invited by the US to attend a speech by US President Donald Trump at the UN headquarters, which was regarded as a diplomatic breakthrough in Taiwan.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is aware that Beijing’s treatment of Hong Kong has weakened any possible sentiment for a “one country, two systems” arrangement for Taiwan, and has instructed Chinese Communist Party (CCP) politburo member Wang Huning (王滬寧) to develop new ways of defining cross-strait relations, Japanese news magazine Nikkei Asia reported on Thursday. A former professor of international politics at Fu Dan University, Wang is expected to develop a dialogue that could serve as the foundation for cross-strait unification, and Xi plans to use the framework to support a fourth term as president, Nikkei Asia quoted an anonymous source
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