The Republic of China (ROC) was a founding member of the United Nations (UN); however, after losing the Chinese civil war to Communist forces of Mao Zedong, the Nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek relocated to Taiwan, bringing with them the trappings of the ROC government. In the early years of the Cold War after the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the insular ROC received international support as a physical and ideological bulwark against continental Communist China. However, during the 1960s, ROC allies gradually shifted allegiance to the PRC.
In October 1971, the ROC withdrew from the UN under the duress of the so-called Albanian resolution, which transferred representation of China to the government of the PRC. Since then, the people of Taiwan have been denied representation in the world body and associated organizations, and it was not until 1993 that the nation launched its first campaign to join the organization.
Taiwan is seeking discussion of its representation and participation included on the UN General Assembly agenda. Every year, ROC diplomatic allies, of which there are currently 24, submit proposals calling for this. The proposal has yet to make it past the UN General Committee, which sets the agenda for the General Assembly, where a lack of consensus on whether the topic should be discussed has led to committee presidents sidelining the issue year after year.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs adopted a new strategy presenting two proposals last year. Eleven ROC allies submitted the representation and participation proposal. A second one, in response to China's "anti-secession law" and proposing "a proactive role for the United Nations in maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait," the "peace proposal," was jointly submitted by the other 13 diplomatic allies. Both submissions were in vain, but this year the ministry will resubmit them with some changes to the peace proposal, like broadening the UN's proactive role in maintaining peace in East Asia.
Three scholars talked to Taiwan Review and comment on Taiwan's UN bid: Lo Chih-cheng, chair of Political Science at Soochow University; Lin Cheng-yi, program coordinator at the Institute for National Policy Research; and Tung Chen-yuan, assistant professor at the Sun Yat-sen Graduate Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities, National Chengchi University.
Taiwan Review: Why is Taiwan's entry into the UN important to Taiwan and to the rest of the world?
Lo: It's our right and duty to enter the UN. Being a sovereign state, Taiwan should not be deprived of its fundamental right to take part in the UN by anyone or any country. On the other hand, Taiwan is currently the 16th largest economy in the world, so it clearly has the ability and obligation to contribute to the world. The exclusion of Taiwan from the UN is not only a loss for Taiwan, but also a loss for the international community. We shouldn't only see Taiwan's exclusion from the UN as a loss to ourselves.
Lin: Taiwan's entry into the UN would be a declaration that the cross-strait issue has nothing to do with China's internal affairs, so other countries could have a bigger say over the security issue in the region. At present, China asks foreign powers to refrain from intervening if it attempts to intimidate us by test-firing missiles around Taiwan and deploying them just across the Strait on the pretext that the Taiwan issue is a domestic one. Once Taiwan becomes a UN member, China would have to be more cautious when considering invading Taiwan, because in such a situation the UN would take punitive measures against China and conduct peace-keeping operations in the Strait. In this way, Taiwan's UN participation would greatly enhance stability in the region.
Tung: Taiwan is already deeply involved in the world economy, but is still denied participation in the UN, which has close ties with most major international organizations like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. In a world where many international issues must be dealt with through nation-to-nation cooperation, Taiwan's absence from the UN actually harms itself and the world.
This can be said of the World Health Organization (WHO) as well, a UN body which does not include Taiwan. Without membership, Taiwan still cannot gain direct access to first-hand information provided by the WHO. At the same time, the denial of Taiwan's accession to the WHO means that the world is prevented from sharing Taiwan's valuable experience in fighting infectious diseases like SARS. If Taiwan joins the UN, which is the most important international organization, we can share what we have with the world more directly and effectively.
If it looks unlikely that Taiwan can enter the UN in the near future due to pressure from Beijing, what is the point of the ongoing campaign?
Lo: It is a challenge for Taiwan to enter the UN in the near future, but we have to strive for our right [to representation], otherwise other countries will forget that we have the right.
We have to be well-prepared and wait for the right moment. You never know what will happen next--no one could predict the Tiananmen massacre. It's a pity that Taiwan didn't push for entry into the UN at that time. If we had done, we'd have had a very good opportunity to turn the tables and win broad recognition from the international community at a time when China was isolated by much of the world. Taiwan wouldn't necessarily have been able to join the UN because of this incident, but at least we could've won a lot of support for our UN bid.
Taiwan also needs to make the world notice its existence and its needs in the process of bidding for UN participation. The nation's ongoing struggle for its right to participate is also a criticism of the international community's failure to stick to the basic values it promotes. "Health for All" is the core value of the WHO, but now all the world knows that it's "health for all except Taiwan." This is really ridiculous.
Campaigning for participation in the UN since 1993 has taken many forms such as this street demonstration in Taipei. (Photo by Huang Chung-hsin)
Lin: The campaign for a place in the UN is actually an educational process for the international community. Many people don't even know Taiwan is excluded from the UN, so there is a need to highlight Taiwan's absence from the organization. Taiwan's constant effort to challenge the UN is also a testimony to the fact that Taiwan is not part of China.
As Taiwan strives for the right to participate in the UN, it has potently questioned the UN's core principle of universality as well. In November 1950, a delegation from China, which was not a UN member then, went to the UN Headquarters in New York and accused the United States, a UN member, at a Security Council meeting of sending the Seventh Fleet to the Taiwan Strait to "invade" Taiwan after the outbreak of the Korean War. [Actually the Seventh Fleet stopped China from "liberating" Taiwan.] This indicated the UN's seriousness about protecting the right of a country to voice its opinion even though it is not a UN member. That is the principle of universality. But why is this principle not applied to Taiwan? We have to keep calling for the UN's adherence to its own principles and let the world know about the unfair treatment Taiwan receives.
Tung: Don't forget that it took over 20 years for China to enter the UN! As long as we keep going, we have the chance to achieve our ultimate goal.
What is the international community's attitude toward Taiwan's campaigning for UN participation?
Lo: The issue of Taiwan's UN entry bid has drawn more and more attention from UN members, although they don't necessarily show their support at critical moments. The most obvious change in the attitude of the international community toward Taiwan's situation is the tide of public opinion turning for us. Foreign media, for example, have become more understanding and even more supportive when talking about Taiwan's effort to enter the UN.
Lin: It is a long-term uphill battle to win full support from the international community. Taiwan has tried in vain to enter the UN for many years, but this is not related to the effort Taiwan has made in this respect. This is a structurally challenging problem: too few countries have formal ties with Taiwan whereas China has so much clout in the world.
What should Taiwan do in the future to win more support for Taiwan's entry into the UN?
Lin: Taiwan should keep calling for its participation in the UN. I think the ongoing effort goads the UN into considering Taiwan's participation in UN-related activities even though it's not a member. On the surface, Taiwan's UN effort appears unsuccessful, but actually it makes individual countries revise their policies toward Taiwan and China. They may think, "If I can't support Taiwan's UN bid, can I do so when it tries to take part in UN-agency events?" Last year the WHO amended its International Health Regulations based on the principle of universal application. Thanks to this revision, we can participate in many WHO conferences that were inaccessible to us before.
Tung: We should take the interests of world powers into consideration when seeking their support. Meanwhile, we need to strengthen Taiwan's strategic position in the world. I'm not referring to just its military role in the region. What's more important is its achievements in areas such as human rights, democracy and environmental protection. We must make contributions and play an indispensable role in these areas so that the world notices Taiwan more and gradually shows us more support.
For example, as a large and stable democracy in Asia, Taiwan should take the responsibility of pushing democratization in the region. It's good that Taiwan has already established the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy [under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.] But I recommend that Taiwan establishes an annual award worth US$1 million exclusively for those struggling for democracy in China. This would certainly draw a lot of attention around the world, and Taiwan can further demonstrate its value as a democracy by facilitating the process of democratization in China.
The Republic of China and the UN
1945: After World War II, the ROC becomes one of the founding members of the UN and a permanent member of its Security Council.
1949: The ROC government relocates to Taiwan as the People's Republic of China is founded in Beijing. The two states both lay claim to the UN seat for China, which, with US support, stays in ROC hands.
1971: After efforts by UN members to secure dual recognition for China and Taiwan are scuppered by the ROC government's refusal to renounce its claim to be the government of all China, the UN General Assembly passes Resolution 2758 to give the China seat to the PRC. Nothing is said about the status or representation of Taiwan.
1993: Goaded by the Democratic Progressive Party, then the opposition party, the ROC government starts campaigning for participation in the UN. It has since relied on the representatives of its diplomatic allies to the UN to submit its bid.