Article:'Taiwan' submits second U.N. bid

by Allen Hsu

to see the original article on the Taiwan Journal website, please click here


ROC President Chen Shui-bian submitted a second application for Taiwan's membership of the United Nations after the first was rejected by the U.N. Office of Legal Affairs July 23 based on U.N. Resolution 2758, Taiwan's Office of the President stated Aug. 1.

Chen wrote two letters July 27, one to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the other to Wang Guangya, China's permanent U.N. representative who, in July, held the rotating post of president of the U.N. Security Council.

The letters were delivered July 31 through the U.N. permanent representatives of the Solomon Islands and Swaziland, two of Taiwan's diplomatic allies, the OOP said.

"Resolution 2758 neither grants China the right to represent Taiwan's 23 million people at the United Nations, or states that Taiwan is either a part of China or the People's Republic of China," Chen reiterated in his letter to Ban. Taiwan was an independent sovereign nation, he continued, and its people had the right to participate in the world body, as stipulated in the U.N. Charter.
Only the Security Council and the General Assembly, rather than the Secretariat, had the authority to review and decide on U.N. membership applications, Chen noted. "Our membership application should be duly processed in accordance with relevant rules of procedure of the United Nations."

In his letter to Wang, the president recounted that the United Nations aimed to maintain international peace and security, boost amicable relations among nations and make international cooperation possible. "Taiwan subscribes to this purpose and is willing and able to fulfill the obligations expected of U.N. members," Chen stressed.

Wang returned the letter the same day he received it, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported Aug. 3, and was quoted by China's Xinhua News Agency as calling Taiwan's U.N. bid "a very serious separatist act seeking independence for Taiwan," the CNA reported.

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council solemnly protested Wang's rejection Aug. 2. China ignored Taiwan's existence, denied its legal status and democratic development, deployed missiles against it, attempted to diplomatically subjugate Taiwan in the international community and had changed the status quo of the Taiwan Strait, the MAC stated. The world should take seriously the perilous situation that China's military buildup was causing, it claimed.

U.N. permanent representatives from five of Taiwan's diplomatic allies--Palau, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands, Swaziland and El Salvador--also wrote to Ban Aug. 2 and to Pascal Gayama, Congo's U.N. permanent representative who was president of the U.N. Security Council for August.

China's Diplomacy: "Soft" vs. "Hard" Power

Anyone familiar with Taiwan's quest for representation in international orgs like the UN and WHO knows well that the largest obstacle for Taiwan is Beijing's economic influence over the international community. Yesterday in the Washington Times Steven W. Mosher explained the nature of China's diplomatic power in his review of Joshua Kurlantzick's new book, Charm Offensive. He argues that Mr. Kurlantzick improperly uses the term "soft power"—a term originally used to describe America' Cold War influence on people watching the West from behind the Iron Curtain—to classify the power China excersizes over developing countries and established dictatorships today. Here are some excerpts from Mr. Mosher's review:

In fact, one can name a corrupt, dictatorial regime anywhere in the world — and Mr. Kurlantzick names many — and its closest major ally is invariably the People's Republic of China, all too ready to supply guns, butter or comradely encouragement to defy the United States...

...What he [Kurlantzick] disarmingly calls a "charm offensive" based largely on China's supposedly growing "soft power" is in reality something far more ominous: It is the deliberate targeting of poor, developing nations with a potent combination of state-driven investment, trade, arms sales and aid (including bribes to high officials and secret subsidies to political parties), with the aim of cementing the allegiance of governing elites to Beijing...

...There is almost no resemblance between [the concept of 'soft power'] and China's current efforts to buy influence. While China's brand of Leninist capitalism and its disdain for human rights may attract favorable notice from dictators, even here China's new clout is fundamentally based on what Mr. [Joseph] Nye called "the hard power of threats or payments."

That is to say, it is in return for football stadiums, public works projects, exchange programs, generous aid packages, not to mention support in controversies with the United States and U.S.-led international organizations, that leaders in dozens of countries are cozying up to China. We are witnessing an excersize in hard power, not soft.

Mr. Mosher does a good job in this review of capturing the misleading nature of China's diplomatic activities worldwide—a 'schmooze ruse' that apparently also misled Kurlantzick in his evaluation of Beijing's growing influence. China has been ever-increasingly throwing its economic weight around, not by benevolently investing in disadvantaged countries for the betterment of humanity, but rather by bolstering diplomatically isolated or struggling nations in a very calculated way—making it clear to the leaders of those countries that they are expected to tow the China line in return.

China's use of hard economic power has solidified Beijing's influence over international organizations and confounded efforts by the West to isolate inhumane and irresponsible governments. Hopefully, Taiwan and other countries/regions detrimented by China's economic realpolitik will be able to convince the United States and other leading nations that it is in our best interest to check this growing form of Chinese power. Herein lies the most feasible path to the international participation Taiwan seeks.

The 2007 UN Bid To-date

It would make sense to begin with a recap of what has happened with Taiwan’s campaign for UN membership so far this year:

On July 19 Taiwan’s President Chen Shui-bian submitted a letter to the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon—via two Taiwan-friendly UN members—appealing for the consideration of Taiwan for UN membership. The letter, however, never officially made it to the Secretary-General’s office, as it was turned away by the UN Office of Legal Affairs citing Resolution 2758.

We are sure that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is very busy man, but we can only hope that he has at least unofficially reviewed President Chen’s letter for his own personal edification at some point in the past two weeks. In any case, why the UN Office of Legal Affairs opted to make such a flawed argument while blocking this request—from even being considered by the Secretary-General—is beyond our understanding. Since then, many pro-Taiwan groups and even some United States officials have pointed out that the UN Secretariat is out of line on at least two levels: 1) it is the Secretary-General’s responsibility to dutifully forward requests for membership to the General Assembly for that body’s consideration, and, 2) Resolution 2758 makes absolutely no mention of the political status of the island of Taiwan, merely rejecting the notion in 1971 that Chiang Kai-shek’s government lawfully represented China within the UN.

Below are links to UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, President Chen’s letter to the Secretary-General, the UN Secretariat's statements on the subject and a few newspaper articles on the topic:

UN Resolution 2758
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/327/74/IMG/NR032774.pdf?OpenElement

President Chen of Taiwan to UN Secretary-General Ban
http://www.roc-taiwan.org/US/ct.asp?xItem=37938&ctNode=2300&mp=12

Spokesperson's Noon Briefing, 23 July 2007
http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs/2007/db070723.doc.htm

Highlights of the Noon Briefing, 23 July 2007
http://www.un.org/News/ossg/hilites/hilites_arch_view.asp?HighID=893

"UN legal affairs office rejects 'Taiwan' bid." Taiwan Journal. 27 July 2007.
http://taiwanjournal.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=24484&CtNode=122

"Allies accuse Ban of violating UN protocol." Taipei Times. 5 August 2007.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2007/08/05/2003372787


There have been some other interchanges since, but the rejection of President Chen’s letter so far seems to us to be the main thing.