While condemning China for blocking Taiwan's bid to join the United Nations under the name "Taiwan," Chen challenged the United States for its weak support and quoted the lyrics of the song "Impossible Dream" from the Broadway musical "Man of La Mancha" to express his idea.
This musical relates how Don Quixote prepares to fight with a clear conscience until he dies. The doomed hero says he is going "to dream the impossible dream / to fight the unbeatable foe" and "to reach the unreachable star."
Chen made the remarks during a videoconference titled "The United Nations and Taiwan Democracy" with the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. Sept. 6. The AEI is a think tank that carries out research and education on public-policy issues such as government, economics and social welfare. It is dedicated to pursuing ideals including individual liberty and political accountability, according to the organization.
The issue of Taiwan's participation in the United Nations has been heated up after U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte gave an interview on the Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV Aug. 27. Negroponte said that Taiwan's U.N. application was "a mistake," adding that Washington would interpret the push for a U.N. seat as a step "toward a declaration of independence of Taiwan" and "an alteration of the status quo."
PRC President Hu Jintao branded Taiwan's plan for a national referendum on U.N. membership as an act of "secession" in a Sept. 6 press conference in Sydney, Australia, saying China would never tolerate any attempt for Taiwan to separate itself from the PRC. Hu quoted U.S. President George W. Bush as clearly saying that the United States firmly opposed any changes in the status quo. The two leaders met in Sydney during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Hu also criticized the Taiwan government for ignoring the calls from "all sides" to cancel the referendum. "We must give stronger warnings to the Taiwan authorities," he added. Bush did not publicly endorse this action at the APEC meeting, however.
In response to Hu's and Bush's remarks, Chen said at the videoconference that Taiwan has never been a part of the PRC, citing Resolution No. 2758 passed by the U.N. General Assembly on Oct. 25, 1971. While the measure expelled Chiang Kai-shek's representatives from the international body, it never mentioned Taiwan, he stressed.
The referendum was not a dispute over reclaiming China's seat in the United Nations, Chen continued, because the membership application was under the name "Taiwan," not "Republic of China." "The People's Republic of China has no right, and is in fact unable, to represent the 23 million Taiwanese people in the United Nations," he said. "It is the people of Taiwan who have the right to ask for appropriate representation in the United Nations."
Another reason for using "Taiwan" in its U.N. bid came from the need to "defend the status quo of the Taiwan Strait from being unilaterally changed by China," Chen explained, citing China's passing of the so-called Anti-Secession Law in March 2005 and its increased deployment of missiles targeting Taiwan as examples.
In addressing the United States, Chen pointed out that Taiwan and the United States have long been strategic partners to defend security, peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Although stances of the two countries might differ on certain issues, particularly on the U.N. referendum, Chen said, Taipei and Washington could reconcile the differences through candid and cordial dialogue, in order to continue fighting for common values.
Chen further urged countries that "love freedom and democracy, and respect human rights, justice and peace" to speak out in the upcoming U.N. General Assembly, which would help "allow Taiwan the opportunity to have its membership application reviewed fairly."
Write to Amber Wu at amber0207@mail.gio.gov.tw