World should hear about Taiwan’s aim to join UN: group

By Chen Yu-fu and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer





President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) should convene international news conferences in May and September to announce to the world Taiwan’s intent to join the WHO and the UN, Taiwan United Nations Alliance president Michael Tsai (蔡明憲) said yesterday.

“The unwillingness of our president to make an appeal to the UN regarding our intention to join over the past four years has been regrettable,” Michael Tsai said at an alliance event in Taipei, calling on Tsai Ing-wen “to boldly and firmly express to the international community Taiwan’s wish” to join both international organizations.

Michael Tsai also suggested that the president write a personal letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Taiwan’s desire to join the UN.

Taiwan United Nations Alliance president Michael Tsai speaks at a forum organized by the alliance in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times

He also called on the Legislative Yuan to pass a resolution that would give competent authorities the legal basis to make appeals to the international community to support Taiwan’s joining of the WHO.

“We hope that the government can be more proactive in such matters,” he said.

Since 2003, the alliance has sent annual delegations to the US to advocate for Taiwan’s membership in the UN.

Former minister of foreign affairs Mark Chen (陳唐山) called Tsai Ing-wen’s statement that “we are an independent country already” in an interview with the BBC that was aired on Tuesday an excellent move forward, saying that if Taiwan could keep up relations with the 60 countries that congratulated her on her re-election, Taiwan could slowly build up a solid base to support its bid to join the UN.

While he supports the name “Republic of China (Taiwan),” joining the UN using that title would be problematic, he said, expressing the hope that the Tsai administration would develop a strategy to overcome the obstacle.

Former deputy minister of foreign affairs Michael Kau (高英茂) said that the government could consider a strategy used in 1992, when the nation applied to join the predecessor of the WTO — the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade — as the autonomous customs territory of Taiwan, the Pescadores, Kinmen and Matsu.

The main difficulty Taiwan faces in joining the UN stems from its uncertain status internationally, which leaves other nations with their hands tied, even if they want to support Taiwan, Kau said.

The government has also been passive in the past and should launch more government-backed campaigns to join the UN, as it is difficult to garner global attention when acting as a private party, he said.

The government should speak with its allies and call for a debate in the UN regarding Taiwan’s status, he added.