Taiwan also known as the Republic of China (ROC), aspires to join the United Nations (UN), reminding world leaders as they meet for the 77th UN General Assembly (UNGA) this week in New York.
UNGA will meet for the first time in three years carrying the theme “A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges”.
Discussions include sweeping crises including climate change, the rise of various COVID-19 variants, food insecurity and the war in Ukraine.
In a statement, Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Jaushieh Joseph Wu said Taiwan hopes to join the UN to be part of the collaborative effort to tackle existing challenges for the global good.
“Everyone including the people of Taiwan deserves to have their voices heard.”
“As a beacon of democracy in Asia and a force for good in the world, Taiwan is a valuable partner that can help overcome these global challenges,” said the Foreign Affairs Minister.
This is evident through the humanitarian support provided by Taiwan across the globe since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic – supplying masks, medical supplies, and the development and sharing of their homegrown vaccine.
Furthermore, Taiwan provided aid to the people of Ukraine; sending over 550 tons of relief supplies along with US$40 million in donations for Ukrainian refugees.
He also shared Taiwan’s commitment to combat climate change with a blueprint for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 along with the policies in place to help achieve UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“As the world’s 22nd largest economy in terms of GDP and a major semiconductor manufacturer, Taiwan plays a key role in global supply chains.”
“And as a defender of democracy, Taiwan is working to safeguard the status quo and support the rules-based international order – letting (our) free and open society lead by example,” added Wu.
The Foreign Affairs Minister also highlighted Taiwan’s situation of being unable to participate in the largest and most significant global cooperation forum.
“(This has) deprived Taiwan of the right to participate in the UN and its specialised agencies, it has also denied the international community of an opportunity to benefit from Taiwan’s contributions,” said Wu.
Furthermore, Taiwan is determined to defend its sovereignty and security while working together with like-minded countries to uphold peace and stability in the region.
“We have (also) shown the world over the years (that) we will continue to fulfill our international responsibilities by actively engaging with and contributing to the international community,” said Wu.
The foreign affairs minister said this year’s UNGA theme further reminds everyone of the grave challenges facing the international community.
“When the UN talks about ‘joint solutions’ and ‘solidarity’ to tackle ‘interconnected crises’, we could not agree more.”
“Taiwan is more than willing and able to be part of such joint solutions and the 23.5 million resilient Taiwanese people surely should not be excluded from such important global efforts,” said Wu.
He expressed his gratitude towards countries worldwide who have realised what Taiwan can offer and to the many supporting their robust participation in the UN.
“Among them, the European Parliament (who) overwhelmingly approved a resolution this year on July 6, expressing support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organisations,” he added.
G7 countries have also expressed similar support – in particular the United States (US) Secretary of State, Antony Blinken who publicly encouraged all UN member states to join the US in support of Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the UN system last October.
“Our shared obstacles require all hands on deck. Those grave interconnected crises cannot be resolved until the entire world comes together,” said the foreign affairs minister.
“Taiwan has proved to be a reliable and indispensable partner and the people of Taiwan stand ready to contribute. Let’s work together as one for the global good,” the minister concluded.
THE BRUNEIAN | BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN