Two members of the US House of Representatives on Thursday urged the US government to support UN membership for Taiwan.
In a letter addressed to US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Republican Representatives Scott Perry and Tom Tiffany called on the ambassador to “use the voice, vote, and influence of the United States to secure Taiwan’s ascension.”
Tiffany posted the letter on Twitter ahead of the UN General Assembly, which is to take place from Tuesday next week to Sept. 21 in New York, with the option of virtual participation over COVID-19 concerns.
Photo: AFP
The US administration should “ensure that Taiwan is fully invested with the rights, privileges, and responsibilities as a UN member state,” the letter said.
The lawmakers also asked the ambassador to detail in a response how Washington plans to assist Taiwan’s inclusion as a UN member state.
Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN would be “a victory for democracy and the rules-based international order,” the lawmakers said.
“It is beyond the pale that we allow our fear of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] to dictate our foreign policy and allow the UN body — dominated by the influence of the Chinese Communist Party — to repeatedly reject Taiwan’s requests to formally join the UN,” the letter said.
“No cogent or logical argument can be made for Taiwan’s 50-year exclusion from the UN,” it said, adding that Taiwan ranks near the top 20 economies in the world, and is the 10th-largest trading partner of the US.
Taiwan, as the Republic of China, left the UN in 1971, when the PRC took its place, and has since been excluded from its special agencies.
Taiwan has over the years campaigned for its participation in the activities, mechanisms and meetings of the UN.
As part of this year’s efforts, the government would again ask diplomatic allies to voice support for the nation’s inclusion in the UN, either by speaking up during the General Assembly or by sending letters to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
China has reserved offshore airspace over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts that are usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Sunday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. The alerts, known as notice to air missions (NOTAMs), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert
RSS