As the 78th UN General Assembly is being held in New York, USA, the ROC (Taiwan) Embassy would like to express its deepest appreciation to the RMI government and its people for their unwavering support for Taiwan's inclusion in the UN and related mechanism.
For the years, Taiwan has been a close partner to the RMI. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Taiwan has worked with the RMI government to combat the pandemic. This partnership has resulted in the provision of medical supply and funding to the RMI Pandemic and Response Plan. Taiwan has also provided funding for vaccine storage devices and transportation.
In fighting with Climate Change, Taiwan just donated $1 Million to the ROC (Taiwan)-the RMI Adaptation and Contingency Fund, which signifies Taiwan’s staunch support for the RMI to address one of its most critical issues-climate change. Both mentioned are parts of the stalled efforts of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Taiwan’s commitment to the RMI exemplifies its willingness to collaborate with like-minded partners and demonstrate its care for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals worldwide. The Embassy believes that Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the UN would enable the UN to better address its SDGs.
While the SDGs seek peace and prosperity, progress has lagged. The UN Charter states clearly that the purposes and principles of the UN are to maintain international peace and stability, and that international disputes should be resolved by peaceful means. However, Beijing continue to conduct military exercises in area around Taiwan, undermining the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, escalating tensions, impacting international trade and transportation, and putting the regional peace and stability at risks, which is against the SDG’s goal.
Being a beacon of democracy in Asia and a force for good in the world, Taiwan continues to assist the world and the RMI in the response to global challenges. However, Taiwan has long been deprived of its right to participate in the largest and most important forum of global cooperation, the UN, due to the relentless suppression by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which also led to the denial of the international community’s opportunity to benefit from Taiwan’s contributions.
Excluding Taiwan from the United Nations due to China’s distortion of Resolution 2758 is unjust. This resolution doesn’t recognize Taiwan as part of China or grant China representation rights for Taiwan. The UN Charter’s principles necessitate rectifying this misrepresentation.
As the RMIs has been facing the threat of climate change and keeping on urging the world to deal with its impact, the resilience of this “Iakwe Spirit” echoes Taiwan’s continuous efforts to voice for its participation in the UN, despite China’s coercion and illegitimate claim over Taiwan, which China has never ruled for a single day. As President David Kabua has mentioned in the UNGA: “the shameful silence” must end. The exclusion of the 22nd largest economic body, Taiwan, and its 23.5 million people from the UN must end.
Steve C.C. Hsia
Ambassador of ROC (Taiwan) to the Republic of Marshall Islands
