Dr. Joseph Wu, Taiwan Representative to the U.S.

By Dr. Joseph Wu, Taiwan Representative to the U.S.

The charter of the United Nations, in Article 1, states that the purpose of the organization is “to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace.”

These principles are as critical today as they were when they were agreed to in San Francisco over 60 years ago. President Harry Truman said at the time that the “United Nations is designed to make possible lasting freedom and independence for all its members.”

The people of Taiwan strongly believe in the principles and purpose of the United Nations, and seek to share in the promise that it holds for all citizens of the world. That is why, since 1993, my government has sought a presence at the world's largest and most important international organization. We believe that Taiwan's 23 million citizens have the right to be represented in the United Nations, and are determined to achieve this goal.

As defined by the 1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, Taiwan possesses all the criteria for a sovereign state - a permanent population, a defined territory, a government, and a capacity to enter into relations with other states. As a result, Taiwan is clearly entitled under the UN Charter to seek membership.

Since 1949, Taiwan has exercised full, sovereign authority over a territory comprised of the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu. Its population of 23 million enjoys the freedom and liberties of any democratic society.

Taiwan conducts its own international relations, maintaining not only full diplomatic relations with 24 member states and observer status at the United Nations, but also substantive relations with an overwhelming number of countries represented in the General Assembly.

While these facts alone are compelling, our quest for membership in the United Nations is not based just on legal arguments. Rather, Taiwan - and the international community - have a significant substantive interest in our full participation at the UN.

For one, Taiwan ranks as the world's eighteenth largest economy and its sixteenth largest trading nation, making it critical to international commerce. We are an active, vibrant democracy, providing a beacon of freedom for people in both our region and around the globe who struggle under the yolk of authoritarian regimes and yearn for political emancipation. We are also a major contributor to the global development agenda, providing hundreds of millions in assistance worldwide and producing strategies and technologies to address transnational challenges ranging from SARS to tsunamis.

Further, Taiwan plays an active role in several prominent international organizations, including the World Trade Organization, the Asian Development Bank, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation organization.

Yet despite its legal and substantive standing, Taiwan has been stifled by the People's Republic of China (PRC) in its attempts to join both the United Nations and other international organizations.

In pressuring both the United Nations and member nations to reject Taiwan's full participation, China relies upon UN Resolution 2758, which in 1971 admitted the PRC as a full member of the UN. But it is clear from even a quick reading of that resolution that it did not give the PRC the right to represent the people of Taiwan in the United Nations, its specialized agencies, funds and programs.

Nor should it have. Since the PRC's founding in 1949, it and Taiwan have possessed separate governments and political systems, with neither side having any control or jurisdiction over the other.

In addition to blocking Taiwan's entry into the UN, China has attempted to block our other efforts to participate in the global community. It has actively opposed and lobbied others against our inclusion in every multilateral organization to which we have sought membership or tried to contribute our expertise, including our recent efforts to seek membership in the World Health Organization.

China has been working to build bilateral and regional free trade agreements in our own neighborhood that deliberately exclude Taiwan, as a result making us increasingly economically dependent on China. And China has engaged in a dramatic military buildup along the Taiwan Strait that threatens the peace and security that the UN founded upon and dedicates its work to.

These hostile and provocative acts are reasons alone why it is so important for Taiwan to assume its rightful place in the UN. Member status would help protect our political and economic development, provide a new forum for possible dialogue and reconciliation with the mainland, and uphold the principles and purpose that the UN was founded upon.

For all the reasons I have outlined here, Taiwan has remained committed to securing a meaningful UN role. But our people have become increasingly frustrated by the inability of the UN to act on this matter. As a result, in a public opinion survey conducted earlier this year by Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, more than 77 percent of respondents voiced their support for our pursuit of full membership in this and other international organizations.

In the face of this groundswell of public support, President Chen Shui-bian responded accordingly by submitting an application for full UN membership this past July. This act was undertaken, however, with a keen understanding of the diplomatic realities we are facing.

By seeking UN membership under the name of Taiwan rather than the official Republic of China, our government avoided crossing the line of pursuing outright independence. Like similar efforts we have undertaken with the World Trade Organization, the International Olympic Committee and elsewhere, this course has not - and will not - undermine the statues quo across the Taiwan Strait.

As many Americans know, the UN General Assembly was prevented from taking up our application during its September meeting. But the people of Taiwan remain undeterred in their quest. In light of continued overwhelming public sentiment, we will hold a referendum during next year's presidential ballot on the question of whether we should continue to press for full UN membership under the name of Taiwan.

To be clear, this referendum is not intended to serve as a declaration of independence or disrupt the status quo across the Taiwan Strait, instead, it will allow the citizens of Taiwan to exercise their democratic rights on a matter of paramount significance to our future role in the international community.

In a recent visit to our region, President Bush stated that, "By embracing freedom at all levels, Taiwan has delivered prosperity to its people and created a free and democratic Chinese society." We believe that UN membership will not only help us preserve these attributes, but contribute to their advancement throughout the region and the world.

We know America shares this objective, and we look forward to a lasting partnership based on our common commitment to freedom, democracy and liberty.