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Seattle
Times, March 24, 2002
Why
not Taiwan?
Switzerland
recently voted to join the United Nations and will become
the U.N.'s 190th member this September ("Neutral Swiss
vote to join United Nations," Times, March 4). A question
raised among the people in Taiwan (The Republic of China)
and all Taiwanese Americans is: If Switzerland is qualified
for U.N. membership, why not Taiwan? Consider Taiwan's list
of qualifications for U.N. membership:
o A defined
territory covering some 14,000 square miles.
o A population
of some 23 million people, which is the 46th largest in the
world, more than the population of two-thirds of U.N. member
nations.
o A fully
democratically elected government through two popular presidential
elections since 1996.
o A vibrant
economy marking the world's 16th largest, and third-largest
holder of foreign exchange.
As a sovereign
state, Taiwan absolutely meets all the criteria the U.N. uses
to judge a country. Unfortunately, Taiwan has failed to be
accepted by the U.N. merely because the People's Republic
of China (PRC) opposes it. PRC claims that Taiwan is part
of its territory so that Taiwan cannot have its delegates
in the U.N. But the facts are, since 1949, the government
of the Republic of China has exercised effective control and
jurisdiction over Taiwan, while PRC government has over the
mainland during the same time. In other words, PRC has never
ruled Taiwan, even for a single day.
U.N. Secretary-General
Kofi Annan welcomed the vote in Switzerland, saying it brought
the United Nations closer to universality. Mr. Annan is perfectly
right. Universality is the essence of the U.N.'s goal to world
peace. So, why not Taiwan? With the participation of Taiwan,
the U.N. can live up to its principle of universality, achieve
its goal of preventive diplomacy, and facilitate the cross-Taiwan-strait
reconciliation and peace process.
If the
United Nations accepts Switzerland, then it should also welcome
Taiwan.
- Jack
K.C. Chiang, director general,
Taipei
Economic and Cultural Office, Seattle
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