Four of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies urged the UN to include the country in its system during the UN Summit of the Future held during the annual UN General Assembly.
Marshallese President Hilda Heine, Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr, Eswatini Prime Minister Russell Dlamini and Paraguayan President Santiago Pena all called for Taiwan’s participation in the UN system at the inaugural summit held on Sunday and Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
In her address, Heine highlighted Taiwan’s role as a “key partner” to the Marshall Islands.
Photo: Reuters
“Taiwan’s important partnership deserves appropriate recognition. If we are to truly ‘leave no one behind,’ then Taiwan deserves meaningful and enhanced participation in the UN system,” she said.
Whipps said that Taiwan’s absence from the international organization and its specialized agencies was “ironic” given that this year’s UN General Assembly theme is “leaving no one behind.”
He also said that Taiwan’s absence from the UN was due to a “misinterpretation” of UN Resolution 2758.
Photo: Bloomberg
Resolution 2758, adopted by the 26th UN General Assembly in 1971, states that the assembly recognizes the People’s Republic of China as “the only lawful representative of China” to the international body, resulting in the Republic of China losing its UN seat.
Although the issue of Taiwan’s sovereignty or representation at the UN is not addressed in the resolution, Taiwan has since been excluded from participating in the global body and its affiliates.
In his Summit of the Future speech, Dlamini said Taiwan “contributes significantly to global public health, economic development and technological innovation,” and called for Taiwan’s “meaningful participation in international organizations.”
Meanwhile, Pena said that Paraguay was “convinced that the future should be one of peace, taking us further from violence and conquest.”
“In a phrase, ‘might does not make right.’ For this reason, we defend countries like Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, that have a right to be respected and treated with dignity,” he said.
The inaugural summit came at the start of the UN General Assembly’s “high-level week” in New York.
The summit endorsed the “Pact for the Future,” a sweeping document intended to make the UN system fit for the needs of the 21st century.
Among other ambitions, the pact includes commitments to reform the global financial architecture, adapt the UN to new security threats, advance sustainable development, harness digital technologies, and address the needs of youth and future generations.
The 79th session of the UN General Assembly started on Sept. 10 in New York. The General Debate, which started yesterday, is expected to run until Monday, with a break on Sunday.
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with