The 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly is scheduled to convene at the UN Headquarters in New York on September 14, with the General Debate to be held from September 21 to 27. The theme for this year’s UN General Assembly and General Debate will be “Building resilience through hope—to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalize the United Nations.” This reflects the earnest hope of the world, having been ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic for over a year, for a stronger and more inclusive United Nations, so that the crisis may be resolved and progress made toward a stronger recovery and sustainable reconstruction.
In this year’s campaign for UN participation, the focus of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) is to convey to the international community the aspiration of the people of Taiwan to take part in the UN system, and to show that Taiwan is ready, willing, and able to work jointly with the rest of the world and contribute to UN efforts toward recovery at this critical time. The government has asked diplomatic allies to speak up for Taiwan at the General Debate and to write to UN Secretary-General António Guterres urging him to uphold the principles set forth in the UN Charter and to address the issue of the long-term exclusion of Taiwan’s 23.5 million people from the UN system.
In a continuation of previous campaigns, this year the government is making three appeals, calling on the United Nations to (1) take immediate action to address the unjustified exclusion of Taiwan’s 23.5 million people from the UN system; (2) immediately rectify its discriminatory policy against Taiwanese passport holders; and (3) ensure that Taiwan is afforded the right to participate in an equal and dignified manner in meetings, mechanisms, and activities related to the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and thus make greater contributions.
In order to clearly communicate Taiwan’s appeals to the international community, Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaushieh Joseph Wu has published an op-ed entitled “Reimagining a More Resilient UN System With Taiwan In It” in the international media. The article stresses that, although the UN system continues to exclude Taiwan under pressure from China by citing an erroneous interpretation of UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, Taiwan is nonetheless willing to do its utmost to play a constructive role in the UN system. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has also produced a short film in response to this year’s UN General Assembly theme, highlighting the importance that Taiwan attaches to people’s rights and the actions it has taken to realize the SDGs.
During the UN General Assembly, the government will host side events on such topics as international humanitarian affairs, sustainable development, and antipandemic technologies, reflecting the theme of its bid in recent years to promote Taiwan as a vital partner in the worldwide implementation of the SDGs. This will allow the international community to understand Taiwan’s strong commitment to making regional and global contributions, showing Taiwan to be a strong and indispensable partner in global pandemic response and postpandemic recovery.
MOFA will be creative in employing social media and other diverse approaches to convey its message firmly to the global community, bolstering support for Taiwan’s cause. Moreover, MOFA recognizes and thanks overseas compatriot communities for organizing, on their own initiative in the face of the ongoing pandemic, various activities to back Taiwan and build greater global support for Taiwan’s international participation.
Gaining participation in the United Nations is a long-term undertaking. Despite formidable challenges, international support for Taiwan’s bid has continued to gain momentum thanks to the combined efforts of the government and civil society over many years. The R.O.C. (Taiwan) government is deeply grateful to diplomatic allies and friendly nations for their backing and assistance in promoting Taiwan’s bid to participate in the UN system. It once again calls on the United Nations to recognize Taiwan’s ability to make substantive contributions to global postpandemic recovery and sustainable rebuilding, as well as its determination to do its share for the world community. Now is the time for the United Nations to accept Taiwan and let Taiwan help. The United Nations should take immediate action to bring Taiwan’s 23.5 million people into its fold.
