Canadian Senator Leo Housakos on Monday voiced support for Taiwan’s participation in the UN’s sustainable development projects, a day before the global body convened its 76th General Assembly in New York City.
Housakos, a Conservative Party member representing Quebec, made the remarks in a public letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, which he forwarded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei and posted on Twitter.
“As a beacon of democracy in the region, the time is long past due that Taiwan is welcomed as a partner within the UN system,” he said.
Photo copied by Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
That the UN has excluded Taiwan and allowed China to falsely represent the country since 1971 stemmed from a misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758, which “neither states Taiwan as a part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), nor authorizes the PRC to represent Taiwan in the UN,” he said.
The General Assembly’s theme of COVID-19 resilience, global ecological sustainability and revitalizing the UN “cries out for Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN system and represents an opportunity to bring Taiwan’s 23.5 million people into its fold,” he said.
Taiwan’s effective response to the pandemic, relevance to global supply chains and willingness to aid partner countries, including giving personal protective equipment to Canada, prove the contribution Taiwan could make to the UN, he said.
Guterres is urged to address the unjust exclusion of Taiwanese from its system, and correct its discriminatory policy against the holders of the country’s passports, Housakos said.
Additionally, Guterres should take steps to “ensure that Taiwan is afforded the right to participate in a dignified and equal manner in meetings, mechanisms and activities related to the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” he said.
In Taipei, the ministry wrote on Twitter that it values Housakos’ recognition of Taiwan’s democratic credentials, his contribution to Canada’s COVID-19 response and his support for the country’s inclusion in the UN.
Last week, US representatives Scott Perry and Tom Tiffany also called on the US government to support Taiwan’s bid for UN membership.
In a letter to US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield dated Thursday, the two Republican lawmakers wrote: “It is beyond the pale that we allow our fear of the People’s Republic of China 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.”
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