China not showing good will on Taiwan's UN bid: MOFA
The foreign ministry said Tuesday that it has not sensed any good will from China regarding Taiwan's bid to participate in the United Nations. China has, however, toned down its wording in a recent letter to the U.N. Secretary-General.
The letter reflected Beijing's long-term opposition to any participation by Taiwan in U.N. bodies. This is despite progress in Taiwan's relations with China.
Taiwan has asked the UN General Assembly to approve Taiwan's participation in U.N. agencies. The foreign ministry said that so far the international community, such as the US and the EU, has responded positively to this bid.
Since 1993, Taiwan has been pushing for participation in the U.N. However, Beijing has always blocked the efforts because it argues that Taiwan is part of China.
The next U.N. General Assembly will take place on September 16.
Re: China not showing good will on Taiwan's UN bid
Nicaragua vows to be staunchest supporter of Taiwan's U.N. bid
2008-09-15 08:08 PM
Nicaraguan Ambassador to the Republic of China William M. Tapia said Monday that Nicaragua will continue to be Taiwan's staunchest supporter in the country's bid to participate in the United Nations, an issue the Taiwanese authorities hope will be put on the agenda of the U.N. General Assembly slated for Sept. 16.
"The atmosphere is different this year and Nicaragua has been very supportive of Taiwan's U.N. bid, " Tapia told CNA at a function celebrating the 187th anniversary of the independence of Central America that was hosted by Tapia, along with Honduras Ambassador to the ROC Marlene Villela-Talbott, Guatemalan Ambassador to the ROC Ivan Espinoza Farfan and El Salvador Ambassador to the ROC Francisco Ricardo Santana Berrios.
Tapia was referring to the fact that Taiwan's bid this year is much more moderate under President Ma Ying-jeou's pragmatic diplomatic strategy of "modus vivendi" featuring a "diplomatic truce" with China.
By asking the U.N. General Assembly to consider the feasibility of Taiwan's participation in U.N. specialized agencies rather then seeking full membership, the bid marks a new approach by making no attempt to seek entry to the U.N. under the name Taiwan or the possibility of returning to the U.N. as the ROC.
Tapia, who assumed the post as Nicaraguan ambassador in January, said the situation is different in another respect, as three of Taiwan's diplomatic allies -- Nicaragua, the Solomon Islands and Honduras -- are members of the U.N. General Affairs Committee, the highest number of Taiwan's allies that have been on the committee since 1993.
However, he admitted that China still plays the key role on the issue, pointing out that "it all depends on China."
Commenting on Taiwan's U.N. bid, a senior diplomatic official told CNA earlier in the day that even though Ma's proposal is clearly different from previous bids, some countries might still look at the issue based on China's attitude.
Taiwan has not been a member of the U.N. since 1971, when the People's Republic of China took the China seat from the ROC. Over the past 15 years, Taiwan has failed to get the General Assembly to list the issue of Taiwan's membership on the U.N. agenda because Beijing's argument that Taiwan is part of China has prevailed.
The General Affairs Committee, comprising delegates from 28 nations, will make a decision Sept. 17 pertaining to the agenda for the next General Assembly.
Asked whether Nicaragua is concerned, like Honduras, about improved relations between Taiwan and China under Ma's "diplomatic truce" approach, Tapia said the Nicaraguan government finds Ma's approach to be "very good " and he expressed confidence in the solid bilateral relations between Nicaragua and Taiwan.
In a meeting during Ma's recent state visit to South America and the Caribbean, Honduras President Manuel Zelaya asked Ma how Taiwan's allies should react to the fact the relations between Taiwan and China have significantly improved.
Ma reiterated his idea of a "diplomatic truce" but vowed that nothing will change Taiwan's longstanding friendships. He said Taiwan will use all its energy and resources to consolidate its relations with its allies.
September 15th, 2008, 17:16
vector7
Re: China not showing good will on Taiwan's UN bid
Taiwan seeks peace in diplomatic war with China, deputy president tells Swaziland Taiwan is to abandon attempts to woo countries to recognise it as the government of China.
By Sebastien Berger in Ezulwini, Swaziland
Last Updated: 2:51PM BST 10 Sep 2008
Vincent Siew made the call for truce and reconciliation in Swaziland REUTERS
For years Taipei and Beijing have waged a diplomatic contest around the world, but Vincent Siew, Taiwan's deputy president, said: "We hope that in the international arena Taiwan and China will not engage in vicious competition."
He was speaking in Swaziland, where he attended the "40/40" celebrations marking King Mswati III's birthday and the anniversary of independence from Britain.
Along with São Tomé and Principe, Burkina Faso and Gambia, the kingdom is one of Taipei's four remaining diplomatic allies in Africa, after Malawi switched its recognition to Beijing last year. Taiwan has another 19 spread around the world, many of them small Pacific island nations.
The change in approach is part of the "China-friendly" policy adopted by the new Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou, elected earlier this year and a member of the Kuomintang party, the political descendants of China's last Nationalist government ousted by Mao Tse-tung's Communists in 1949.
But with China becoming ever more important economically and politically around the world, how Beijing will respond remains unclear.
"We are calling for truce and reconciliation in our diplomacy," said Mr Siew. "We want to interact with each other and in addition we also hope that we can have goodwill towards each other, no matter in Africa or in other countries in the world.
"We will not waste our resources to try to steal diplomatic allies from the other side."
In the past the practice has been useful to small countries, which have been able to play Taipei and Beijing off against each other, in a reduced-scale version of the contest for influence between Washington and Moscow in the 1970s and 1980s.
Most Taiwanese presence in Swaziland is commercial, with several textile firms operating factories there.
But in nearby Lesotho, which at first recognised Taiwan, then switched to China in 1983, changed back in 1990, and reversed again in 1994, a large new Chinese-funded parliament building is overlooking the capital Maseru.
But Mr Siew, an urbane trade specialist, said: "Vicious competition will harm the national interests of both sides and will harm the feelings of its people towards each other.
"We have to look to the future. In the future we hope to have constructive interaction with the other side." Nonetheless talk of reunification was premature, he said, given both sides "lack of understanding and mutual trust".
"At this current stage it's still too early to talk of unification or something else. Now we are taking a more pragmatic approach, we are trying to normalize the cross-strait interaction in order to deepen understanding of each other.
"Taiwan and China have different political systems, therefore the values of their peoples are different. We hope that along with time along with the increase of our interactions we can have our mutual trust. Later on we can talk more of the issue [reunification]. I think that will be meaningful."
September 16th, 2008, 15:51
vector7
Canadian Chill on Taiwan Support
Kevin Libin: For Stephen Harper, challenging China doesn't mean supporting Taiwan
Posted: September 15, 2008, 6:00 PM by Kelly McParland Full Comment, Kevin Libin
When former prime minister Jean Chrétien publicly criticized the current prime minister last month for alienating China by skipping the Beijing Olympics, Tory minister Jason Kenney suggested it was longstanding Liberal ties to Chinese investment that made Chrétien and his party cater to the Communists. It’s true that numerous high-ranking Liberals -- Chrétien, Paul Martin, Bob Rae -- are connected to the China-boosting Desmarais family and its business, Power Corp., one way or another (Mr. Chrétien’s daughter is married to a Desmarais; Rae’s brother is a Power executive; Martin got his business start there). If that’s so, at least it’s a reason. So, then, what’s Mr. Harper’s excuse for pandering now to Beijing at the United Nations?
The UN General Assembly is scheduled to convene this week, and for the 14th time, Taiwan will seek some kind of recognition by the supposed international body of states. This year, the Taiwanese have lowered the bar: rather than trying to attain full membership, it is appealing only to be able to participate in some of the United Nations special agencies, such as the World Health Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Maritime Organization (Taiwan once had a UN seat; it was taken in 1971 and given to the People’s Republic of China). But China refuses to recognize Taiwan’s independence, and so in all these critical international bodies, the rest of the world must act as if the country does not exist.
China is standing firm again. Despite Taiwan’s election this year of the KMT, which advocates a more conciliatory approach to Beijing, China has insisted that the island nation is part of the People’s Republic and therefore ineligible for membership -- though Taiwan has never once in its history been governed by or paid a dime of tax to Beijing. “As a part of China, Taiwan is not a sovereign State. The claim by a very few countries that specialized agencies should allow the Taiwan region to ‘participate’ in their activities under the ‘principle of universality’ is unfounded,” China’s UN ambassador Wang Guangya wrote to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. “The mainland and the Taiwan region are not yet reunited but the fact that the two sides belong to one and the same China has never changed.”
A dozen or so small countries -- Nicaragua, Swaziland, Honduras, El Salvador, Belize -- take Taiwan’s side on this, as do a number of American and European legislative members (perhaps on the bigger principle or perhaps because it makes no sense to them that Taiwan, with the world’s 10th largest shipping capacity, and located in one of the world’s viral hotspots, is locked out of participating in the IMO or WHO). Not Canada. Though Taiwan has proven to be a democratic, peaceful nation, Ottawa has refused to support the country’s desire to join the foremost international cooperative body. In fact, the Tories have been outright cool to the idea: In March, former foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier said that a Taiwanese national referendum (a democratic exercise you won’t find in China) about applying for UN membership “needlessly escalates tensions across the [Taiwan] Strait.” In 2006, Harper said that Canada did not “want to extend de facto recognition to the Taiwanese government. We believe it is an integral part of China.” So does Beijing. Clearly it matters not that the Taiwanese have never thought of themselves that way.
The Conservative government has in the last few years shown themselves willing to defy Beijing, despite criticisms from real politickers like Chrétien: criticizing China’s summer crackdown in Tibet and expressing concerns about human rights abuses. All the more curious that Harper has backed off from supporting a fellow democracy like Taiwan, in effect modeling a One-China foreign policy instead to suit Beijing’s tastes. As the General Assembly sits down in the middle of a Canadian election, now might be the perfect time to explain why.
September 18th, 2008, 17:49
vector7
Re: China not showing good will on Taiwan's UN bid
Email | Print |
Share
TAIPEI (Reuters) - The United Nations has again ruled out a U.N. role for Taiwan, a Taipei official said on Thursday, despite a recent thaw in relations with China which considers the island a breakaway province.
A U.N. subcommittee decided on Wednesday it would not let the General Assembly consider Taiwan's request for permission to join U.N. activities, an island foreign ministry official said.
Fifteen attempts by Taiwan to join the United Nations have failed, most recently last year. The United Nations ousted Taiwan in favor of China in 1971.
This time, Taiwan was not applying for membership, just to take part in unspecified U.N. "activities".
"This once again demonstrates U.N. members' determination to uphold the one-China principle," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said of the decision.
"Taiwan compatriots' participation in international activities should be decided by negotiations between both sides of the Taiwan Strait," she said. "We believe we can find a solution through talks."
China has considered self-ruled, democratic Taiwan part of its territory rather than a separate country since the island broke away from Mao Zedong's Communists amid civil war in 1949. Statehood is a requirement for U.N. membership.
But since taking office in May, Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou has declared a diplomatic truce with China, which has about 170 allies worldwide compared to Taiwan's 23.
"The foreign ministry expresses regret," Taiwan's deputy foreign minister Andrew Hsia told a news conference.
But in a sign that Taiwan is sticking to its truce, the island has called off a 2008 summit with its six diplomatic allies from the South Pacific. Former President Chen Shui-bian used to use the summits to rally international support for Taiwan over China.
(Reporting by Ralph Jennings; Additional reporting by Yu Le in Beijing)
