Taiwan’s “Viable Diplomacy” and
United Nations Campaign
As
a follow-up to the interview with President Ma Ying-jeou of the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan)
that was published in the June 2011 issue of Diplomacy magazine, the magazine’s
Chairman, Dr. Thok-kyu Limb, has kindly asked me to write
about Taiwan’s strategy to gain participation in the United Nations system.
I
want firstly, however, to congratulate Mr. Ban Ki-moon on being appointed as UN
Secretary-General for a second term. Mr. Ban, formerly a distinguished Korean
diplomat, has now made great efforts to promote the UN's role in international
affairs, and I wish him every success as the chief executive officer of this
global institution over the next five years.
The
year 2011 is very important for the ROC, as we are celebrating the country’s
centennial on October 10. However, next month also marks 40 years since the
ROC’s withdrawal from the UN.
Indeed,
the ROC lost its seat in the UN in October 1971, when the General Assembly
adopted Resolution 2758, recognizing that “the representatives of the
Government of the People's Republic of China are the only lawful representatives
of China to the United Nations”. Since then, our government and people have
been excluded from formal participation in any UN meetings, mechanisms,
conventions and activities, until May 2009 when we were finally able to attend
the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer, due to the successful
conduct of “viable diplomacy”.
In
the 1980s, Taiwan’s economy
took off and the country went through a series of political, economic and
social reforms. Our people’s aspirations for greater international
participation grew ever stronger as a result. The government therefore decided
to launch our first UN campaign in 1993 by urging the Assembly to review
Resolution 2758 and redress the fact that the 23 million people of Taiwan were
being denied their fundamental right to participate and be represented in the
UN system.
This
proposal, which was submitted by our diplomatic allies year after year,
regrettably, never gained enough momentum in the Assembly due to the realities
of international politics.
****************************************************************
****************************************************************
As
President Ma explained in the Diplomacy interview, since he assumed office in
May 2008, the ROC government has adopted a policy of “viable diplomacy” and
endeavored to be a responsible stakeholder in the international community. This
policy, together with the rapprochement of relations with mainland China, has
enabled us to gradually widen our international space by creating a virtuous
circle between the two.
Consequently,
we have also adjusted our UN strategy. We are now seeking meaningful
participation in those UN specialized agencies and relevant mechanisms that are
crucial to the welfare of the people of Taiwan. We will continue with our
efforts, while also taking into consideration changes in circumstances, both
internationally and domestically, and making adjustments accordingly. We hope
that the international community and mainland China can emphatically understand
the desire and need of the people of Taiwan to participate in international organizations.
This
pragmatic, rational and non-confrontational approach has started to pay
dividends. The most significant development to date is that, as briefly
mentioned already, for three consecutive years since 2009, our health minister
has been invited to attend the WHA,
the governing body of the World Health Organization (WHO), as an observer. This
marked our first formal attendance in the UN system after a 38-year absence.
****************************************************************
After
the WHA, what’s next?
In recent years, the international community has, for the main part, concluded that there is an urgent need to address the severe impact caused by climate change on human living and civilization. The loss of life and property around Seoul in late July this year, caused by the heaviest rains seen there in a century, would be a prime example.
In recent years, the international community has, for the main part, concluded that there is an urgent need to address the severe impact caused by climate change on human living and civilization. The loss of life and property around Seoul in late July this year, caused by the heaviest rains seen there in a century, would be a prime example.
The
threat of climate change also looms large for Taiwan. As an island situated in
the typhoon- and earthquake-prone western Pacific, Taiwan is imperiled by
rising sea levels and increasingly extreme weather patterns as well. The
devastating damage wrought by Typhoon Morakot,
a Category One storm, in August 2009 is a case in point. It triggered massive
landslides and flooding that claimed hundreds of lives and caused billions of
dollars worth of damage. Meanwhile, Taiwan is the world’s 22nd largest
greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter, accounting for nearly 1% of the
global total. There is clearly a pressing need for my country to be a part of
the global regime to combat climate change, i.e. the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
On
a similar note, in today’s highly integrated and interconnected world, civil
aviation plays a pivotal role in facilitating cultural, business, trade and
tourism exchanges among nations. This is equally true for Taiwan, which is also
the 16th largest exporting country, the 17th largest import market in the world
and holds the 4th largest foreign exchange reserves. Moreover, the Taipei
Flight Information Region (Taipei FIR) serves dozens of domestic and
international airlines operating more than one million flights and carrying
over 40 million passengers every year.
Nevertheless,
Taiwan has been excluded from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO),
another UN specialized agency, for political reasons since 1971. And yet the
purpose of ICAO is
to promote cooperation between nations “in order that international civil
aviation may be developed in a safe and orderly manner and that international
air transport services may be established on the basis of equality of
opportunity and operated soundly and economically.” Taiwan’s exclusion from ICAO has created a gap in the global
aviation network that could potentially affect the safety and convenience of
air passengers from all over the world.
Out
of practical concern and to continue our policy of pursuing meaningful
participation in UN specialized agencies, our government announced in September
2009 that it would seek support from the international community for our bid to
participate as an observer in both ICAO and the UNFCCC.
****************************************************************
Although
Taiwan has long been excluded from ICAO and the UNFCCC, we remain
committed to our obligations as a responsible stakeholder in the global
community. Our government has, for instance, voluntarily pledged to reduce
Taiwan’s GHG emissions by at least 30 percent by
2020 relative to the Business-As-Usual benchmark, which stands as one of the
most ambitious targets in Asia. The world would be better able to coordinate
efforts to combat climate change if Taiwan were included in the UNFCCC mechanism.
In
the case of ICAO,
the government has, to the best of its abilities and albeit through indirect
channels, followed the rules and standards established by the organization, so
as to ensure the safety of international air transport within the Taipei FIR.
However, after being denied participation for more than four decades now, we
have encountered a number of difficulties, such as untimely and incomplete
information, and system incompatibility. Our concern is that these issues are
creating a gap in the “seamless sky” that is fundamental to the safe and
orderly growth of air transport. Indeed, without Taiwan’s participation, the international
flight plans, regulations and procedures that ICAO formulates will be incomplete and
their implementation delayed.
Since
September 2008, when our government first announced our campaign for meaningful
participation in UN specialized agencies, the United States, the United
Kingdom, Japan and the European Union, among others, have all indicated their
support of various degrees in response. Moreover, the legislative bodies of
major countries or regions – including the United States, Australia, the European
Parliament and the Association of Pacific Island Legislatures – have also
passed resolutions in support of Taiwan’s bid to participate as an observer in
the meetings, activities and mechanisms of ICAO and the UNFCCC.
****************************************************************
While
it is encouraging that large segments of the international community have given
their practical backing to our quest for meaningful participation in UN
specialized agencies, we are still faced with tremendous challenges posed by
the UN system itself. One recent example occurred this May, when the media in
Taiwan reported on a leaked internal WHO memo of September last year, titled
“Application of the International Health Regulations (2005) to the Taiwan
Province of China.” The memo revealed the improper procedures, erroneous
terminology and biased political position of the WHO when it comes to Taiwan.
Another
telling example would be when the third Global Model United Nations (GMUN)
conference, a gathering of college students from around the world, was held in Incheon from August 10 to August 14 this year.
Taiwanese students were not allowed to participate in the event, again for
political reasons, even though our two countries are close neighbors.
These
cases vividly demonstrate that the root of Taiwan’s UN problem is Resolution
2758 and its resulting policy implications. As we continue to campaign for our
meaningful participation in UN specialized agencies, we urge the UN member
states to shelve political controversies and focus on not only the welfare and
fundamental rights of the Taiwanese people, but also the necessary
completeness, without any gap, in those UN global systems. For this approach to
be successful, however, the support of major countries, including the Republic
of Korea (ROK),
will be indispensable. Our endeavor probably deserves more sympathy and support
from the Korean friends, given the fact that the ROK had to campaign hard for its UN
membership, from the late1940s up
until it was admitted in 1991.
Before
its withdrawal from the UN, the ROC, as one of the Founding Members and
permanent members of the Security Council, had actively supported the ROK’s UN campaign by voting favorably on a
number of important resolutions, including General Assembly Resolution 195
(recognizing the government of the ROK in 1948) and Security Council
Resolution 82 (sending armed forces to repel the Communists when the Korean War
broke out in 1950). It was also said that the very reason why the then Soviet
Union did not veto Resolution 82 was simply because they were not there, as the
Soviets were boycotting the then monthly Chair of the Security Council, ROC
Ambassador T.F. Tsiang,
by not attending the meetings he presided over.
Now,
the ROC is not asking our Korean friends to reciprocate, it simply wants the UN
to be fair and just toward all people in the world, including those in Taiwan.
