UN bid is more than just a dream on Sep 15, 2004

UN bid is more than just a dream

By Chen Lung-chu 

Joining the UN is essential if Taiwan is to become a normal state in the international community. It is also what Taiwanese wish for people at home and abroad.

The UN General Assembly's 59th session, which began yesterday, presents Taiwan with a new opportunity to win international support and launch its 12th attempt to win admission to the world body. In mid-August, Gambia and 14 other allies of Taiwan proposed a joint draft resolution concerning UN representation for Taiwan's 23 million people, demanding the bill be put on this year's UN General Assembly agenda.

This joint proposal stresses the UN principle of universal membership. It points out that UN Resolution 2758, passed in 1971, only solved the issue of China's right to representation, and does not address Taiwan's right to representation. It emphasizes that Taiwan (the Republic of China) is an independent, sovereign state, a peace-loving, dynamic and constructive democracy that abides by UN Charter obligations. Politically segregating or excluding Taiwan from the UN does great harm to both the Taiwanese people and the UN. Taiwan's participation in the world body, on the other hand, would benefit the country as well as regional and world peace.

Taiwan needs the UN and the UN needs Taiwan. Taiwan's admission to the UN would be tantamount to collective recognition of the country by the international community. It would have a very positive effect on Taiwan's national dignity, security, diplomacy and human rights. Interaction between Taiwan and China could also be normalized within the UN system, laying the foundation for mutual trust and cooperation.

Upon accession to the UN, Taiwan would actively contribute and share with other member countries its valuable experience in economic development and its transformation from an authoritarian regime to a liberal democracy.

The support we gain from our allies is precious. Our government has worked hard to cultivate these ties. Their appeals on behalf of Taiwan have become clearer, evolving from urging the UN to "study the participation of the Republic of China on Taiwan" to the current proposal asking for "UN representation for Taiwan's 23 million people." It is hoped that the closer cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government Information Office this year will produce international information campaigns leading to better results than in previous years.

Nevertheless, due to China's obstruction, our allies' proposals have thus far been rejected by the General Assembly's agenda-setting General Committee. The proposals have consequently never received the discussion and voting they deserve. Continued effort is needed to overcome this.

Although we still need our allies' support, the government should be more active. The government should use Article 4 of the UN Charter, which regulates admission of new members, and apply directly to the UN secretary-general for admission as a new member, emphasizing that Taiwan is a peace-loving country with the ability and willingness to obey the obligations outlined in the UN Charter. This active approach would highlight the fact that Taiwan is a sovereign state. Clearly expressing the country's will to become a UN member would make our international campaigning and diplomacy more effective -- a different approach from 12 years ago.

Two things need to be stressed. First, we should apply under the name "Taiwan," not "Republic of China (ROC)." UN Resolution 2758 ruled that the ROC has lost its legitimacy within the UN system. The use of the name "Taiwan" by our and foreign governments after our Olympic team won two gold medals at the Athens Olympics -- and the response from the Taiwanese people -- indicates that using the name "Taiwan" can get the country access to the international community, while the "ROC" cannot.

Second, Taiwan should apply for full UN membership, not observer status. Only nations can have UN membership, a permanent status, while an observer is not necessarily a country and it is only temporary. There is a drastic difference in the rights enjoyed by the two. Taiwan's accession to the UN must highlight its status as a sovereign state.

After an application is submitted to the UN secretary-general, the first problem will be the veto of the People's Republic of China (PRC) during the Security Council review. The council has five permanent and 10 non-permanent member states. Although Taiwan currently has no official diplomatic ties with any of these states, it should make every effort to win their support. The question of whether the other four permanent members, the UK, France, Russia and the US, will support, remain neutral to or oppose the Taiwanese membership bid will be crucial.

We should certainly try to avoid an overwhelming defeat, but we should also have the determination to give our all and cut all possible means of retreat. Applying to join the UN as a dignified, independent and sovereign state is certain to stimulate the Taiwanese people and improve the nation's international status.

The Taiwanese people seem to think that the government has been applying for UN membership every year for the past 12 years. In fact, the government has never submitted an application, for various reasons, and has relied solely on the joint proposals of diplomatic allies speaking on behalf of Taiwan. Taiwan will apply for UN membership as a country sooner or later, and the sooner, the better. Even if the UN does not approve the application, it would be a giant leap of bravery and resolve that would counter the current excessive caution and anxiety. Now is the time to call up our courage, confidence and determination and strive for a breakthrough.

Moreover, an application by Taiwan would complement our allies' joint proposal. It should also be coordinated with Taiwan's application to join the World Health Organization (WHO) as an official member state, instead of as an observer. The WHO has a very special characteristic: an application can be approved with the support of only half the member states of the World Health Assembly (WHA), rather than two-thirds, and unlike the UN Security Council, the WHO does not have a veto system, so China will be unable to shoot down the application.

Becoming a WHO member is as difficult as becoming an observer, because both require the support of at least half the members. But the rights of a member state and those of an observer are completely different. Only by becoming an official WHO member state can Taiwan participate in the world body's decision-making process, influence the establishment and implementation of global health policies and fully enjoy a member state's rights, while truly protecting the health and interests of the Taiwanese people.

Before the government submits a UN application, applying for WHO membership seems to be a good strategy. It would show concern for health and sanitation in Taiwan and the rest of the world, while also refuting the Chinese government's deceitful "one China" principle, thereby unambiguously declaring that Taiwan is a country separate from the PRC.

The annual frustrations following the long process of hard work that goes into the UN bid are disheartening. We should overcome this predictable frustration through healthy psychological preparation to be able to maintain our fighting spirit and determination in the long term. The government must work closely together with public and private organizations at home and abroad to make full use of the united strength of the government, industry and the public.

If we want to launch a serious attempt to bring Taiwan into the UN, we must possess strength of purpose and allocate more necessary resources and manpower to the task, while promoting Taiwan to the world's 191 countries through information and diplomacy. We must educate the international community and persuade every national government. Domestically, we must educate the public and persuade the relevant government officials and elected public representatives.

Apart from relying on diplomatic channels and advertising in major international media outlets to highlight the absurdity of the UN's refusal to allow Taiwan into the organization, we must also make good use of e-mail and Internet publications. These are tools that the government and people of Taiwan must use to highlight the injustice of Taiwan's exclusion from the UN.

I hope like-minded people will join hands and use Taiwan's superior information-technology resources to create a professional and comprehensive operation plan. Other measures, such as symposiums and seminars, should be extended to include the international community; while it is true that it is important to speak up domestically, but it is equally important to make the nation's voice heard internationally.

China is using every possible means to put pressure on Taiwan and our international living space. To end this situation, we must develop a flexible diplomacy involving all Taiwanese and uniting both international and domestic forces. "Global governance" based on democratization and civil society is a global trend. In response to this trend, a democratic Taiwan is entering the international community, displaying the strength of the nation's continually growing civil society to the international community and affirming that it is a democratic, free country that respects human rights. The public strength derived from these values transcends the threats posed by missiles.

Concrete actions taken by the Taiwanese people to promote access to the UN includes the movement to send Taiwanese soil to the UN, initiated by universities at the beginning of the year. In April, university students participated in a simulated UN university summit to develop channels for Taiwanese university students to participate in peripheral UN organizations. The wide range of contacts made at this summit was used to make future international leaders understand the injustice of China's oppression of Taiwan and the country's isolation from the international community, which make participation in the UN an impossibility.

Civil society is also doing its part. A delegation to promote Taiwan's UN bid, drawing members mostly from the Taiwan United Nations Alliance (TAIUNA) and the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, arrived in the US a few days ago. Today, they will join up with Taiwanese residing in the New York region to promote the membership bid in the square in front of the UN Headquarters.

Mobilizing Taiwanese expatriates around the world and effectively using their manpower and material strength in their countries of residence, as well as their knowledge, experience and contact networks, offer unlimited potential to create a powerful force promoting admission to the UN.

Nothing is impossible in this world. The UN membership bid is a national mass movement -- it is not an impossible dream. Gaining admission to the UN and the normalization of Taiwan's status are no more impossible than the democratization of the country has turned out to be. As long as the government, industry, civil society and overseas Taiwanese continue to work together, we will be able to realize our shared, beautiful dream.

Chen Lung-chu is the chairman of the Taiwan New Century Foundation, a senior researcher in law at Yale University and a law professor at New York University.

Translated by Jennie Shih, Eddie Chang and Perry Svensson

Destroyer delivery pushed ahead

BOOSTING DEFENSE: Hundreds of Taiwanese workers helped overhaul the Kidd-class destroyers in the US, helping bring delivery forward to late next year

AFP , TAIPEI  

The navy will receive two Kidd-class guided missile destroyers from the US next year, six months ahead of schedule, a legislator said yesterday.

The delivery of two out of four second-hand destroyers on order is expected in the second half of 2005, "about half a year ahead of schedule," said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Sun Kuo-hwa.

The faster-than-expected delivery of the destroyers was due to the assistance of 400 personnel from Taiwan in overhauling the ships at a US naval shipyard in Charleston, South Carolina, Sun said.

The warships "would be a big boost to the Taiwan navy's air defense capability, considering [China's] powerful air defense capability," said Sun, who was fresh from a visit to the shipyard.

He said the navy badly needed the destroyers, which will be armed with SM-2 Standard missiles and a system capable of simultaneously tracking dozens of incoming airborne threats.

The surface-to-air missiles have a range of 144km and vastly outperform the Standard I missiles on Perry-class frigates.

The Kidd warships "will boost the navy's surveillance capabilities, and provide Taiwan with a maritime anti-missile platform," said Tamkang University professor Wung Ming-hsien.

"As the software installed on the Kidd-class destroyers provides coordinated interfaces with the US military, it will cut short the time of US military intervention should war break out in the Taiwan Strait," Wung said.

China in 1996 lobbed ballistic missiles into the shipping lanes of Taiwan to intimidate voters not to re-elect then president Lee Teng-hui, who was seeking another four-year term.

The crisis ended only after the US sent two battle carrier groups to waters off Taiwan in an apparent warning to Beijing not to invade the country.

Taiwan acquired the four 9,600-tonne warships as part of an arms package offered to the island by US President George W. Bush in April 2002. The other two Kidd-class destroyers are scheduled to be delivered in 2006.

The deal, which followed a two-year review by the US of Taiwan's air force and navy, has infuriated China.

In related news, China's state media said yesterday that China has deployed military helicopters, patrol boats, armored fighting vehicles and bomb disposal robots around the massive Three Gorges Dam area to prevent an extremist attack.

"The important anti-terrorism measures taken by the military police on the main bridges, dams and hydro-electric stations have basically been completed," said the China Times.

The report said military police have been training a "pool of talented anti-terrorist professionals."

While no mention was made of who China suspects could target the dam, Beijing was outraged in June at a US suggestion that Taiwan could attack the project as a counter measure to any Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

Chinese military officials at the time warned that any attack from Taiwan would provoke a devastating response from China and vowed that "the dam will not collapse and cannot be destroyed."

The controversial and expensive Three Gorges project, meant to tame the flood-prone Yangtze and increase the country's power supply, is the largest water control project in China.

Construction began in 1993 and upon completion 32 power-generating units will be in operation.

The project is expected to cost 180 billion yuan (US$22 billion).

Critics have cited environmental problems, including silt accumulation and pollution controls in hundreds of cities and villages, along the reservoir.

Pan-blues win vote on probe bill

VETO REJECTED: Although the DPP said it would ask the Council of Grand Justices to review the statute, the president may still have to sign it into law

By Debby Wu
STAFF REPORTER

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) vowed to appeal to the Council of Grand Justices for a constitutional interpretation after the legislature yesterday rejected the Executive Yuan's request to reconsider a controversial statute authorizing the formation of a committee probing the March 19 shootings.

"We will apply to the Judicial Yuan for a constitutional interpretation on the statute tomorrow," DPP caucus whip Lee Chun-yee said.

The vote ensures the imminent promulgation of the statute, which mandates the formation of the investigative committee.

According to the Constitution, the president has to promulgate a law within 10 days after the Legislative Yuan delivers the bill to the Presidential Office.

The Executive Yuan had asked the legislature to reconsider the March 19 Shooting Truth Investigation Special Committee Statute because of concern that it might violate the Constitution and encroach on the judicial system.

The legislature handled the reconsideration request on the first day of its last session yesterday.

A total of 114 lawmakers voted in favor of the statute.

To override a Cabinet veto, at least 109 lawmakers -- a simple majority of the 217 seats in the 225-seat legislature that are presently filled -- have to vote in favor of the statute. Although the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party (PFP) caucuses together have 112 members, the two caucuses only managed to secure 108 votes yesterday, and would not have managed to reject the request were it not for support from the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU).

The NPSU contributed five votes, and independent Legislator Su Yin-kuei also voted against the reconsideration request.

The failure to invalidate the bill came as an expected but still heavy blow to the DPP, and both the DPP and Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) caucuses said that they would not give up their fight against the statute. They said they would apply to the Council of Grand Justices for an interpretation on the statute.

"If the pan-green camp wins a majority of seats in the legislative elections, the TSU caucus will propose that the statute be amended," TSU caucus whip Huang Chung-yung said.

The DPP and the TSU caucuses both criticized the pan-blue camp for rejecting the reconsideration request and asked the public to use their votes in the legislative elections to denounce the pan-blue politicians who voted against the request. They also said they would not nominate any members for the committee.

However, the DPP's application for a constitutional interpretation will not prevent the statute being signed into law, as it is unlikely that the Council of Grand Justices will reach a decision before the president is required to promulgate the statute.

The committee would consist of members drawn from outside the legislature, the Control Yuan or other government agencies and state-run businesses.

The DPP can appoint six members from outside these circles, the KMT five, the PFP four, the TSU one and the NPSU one.

The statute stipulates that the committee has the right to investigate all criminal matters relating to the March 19 shooting, and that it will enjoy powers similar to those of prosecutors when conducting investigations.

The pan-blue camp, meanwhile, worked hard to ensure its triumph. With KMT Chairman Lien Chan present at the party's caucus meeting in the morning, the caucus decided that members who did not vote according to the party line would be kicked out of the party.

The KMT even succeeded in facilitating the return of two long-absent lawmakers, Her Jyh-huei and Yu Yueh-hsia.

But three KMT lawmakers remained absent from yesterday's session: Chen Hung-chang, who had announced he would not run again in the legislative elections some time ago and went abroad two days ago; Tseng Tsai Mei-tso, who canceled her party membership some time ago; and Lo Ming-tsai , who apparently fell ill in Hong Kong.

On the PFP's side, only former basketball player Cheng Chih-lung was absent.

The Executive Yuan yesterday expressed regret at the result and vowed to request a freeze of the legislation until the Council of Grand Justices rules on the statute.

"This piece of legislation re-presents a step backward in the nation's democratic development and symbolizes a shameless stain in the nation's democratic history," Premier Yu Shyi-kun told a press conference last night.

Minister without Portfolio Hsu Chih-hsiung said that it how to implement the law remains a big question, because he said it would be hard to unravel.

"This is the worst piece of legislation I've ever seen since martial law was lifted," he said. "In a bid to safeguard human rights, the public interest and the constitutional system, the best solution is to ask the Council of Grand Justices to halt the implementation of the statute until they reach a decision on the law's constitutionality."

Additional reporting by Ko Shu-ling

MOFA says First Lady oppressed

By Melody Chen
STAFF REPORTER
 

Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen called for the EU to maintain its arms embargo on China yesterday and urged the Taiwanese people to be united in supporting first lady Wu Shu-jen while she endures "diplomatic oppression" by Beijing in Athens.

Taiwan's representative to the EU, Chen Chien-jen, and Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Yin Chi-ming led a delegation to attend an annual conference between Taiwan and the EU in Brussels last Thursday, the minister said.

Herve Jouanjean, European Commission Deputy Director-General for Asia and Latin America, and Pierre Defraigne, deputy director-general of DG Trade for the European Commission, represented the EU at the conference.

"Our delegates have expressed to the EU our serious concern about the EU's proposal to lift the arms embargo on China during the meeting," Mark Chen said in a press conference.

"Some EU member states, spearheaded by France and Germany, have been actively seeking to remove the ban since the end of last year. Fortunately, the US has been strongly opposed to the proposal and the EU nations have not reached a consensus on the issue," he said.

"We want to appeal for the international community to consider the severe impact that will come after the sanction is lifted. We wish to remind the international community that China's human rights record remains poor," Mark Chen added.

Moreover, if the EU removes the arms embargo, China will be able to supply high-tech weapons to authoritarian regimes it supports, such as Myanmar, Cambodia, North Korea and Cuba, the minister said.

Meanwhile, Mark Chen urged the international community to condemn China and the International Paralympic Committee's (IPC) "harsh and anti-sportsman-like" manipulation of Wu at the Paralympic Games in Athens.

The IPC, which issued Wu a card confirming her as the leader of Taiwan's paralympic delegation prior to the games, reversed its decision and declared Chen Li-chou, the president of Taiwan's National Paralympic Committee, as the real head of the Taiwan delegation after Wu's arrival in Athens yesterday.

Mark Chen said the IPC, in its previous letters to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), had welcomed Wu's participation in the games.

"It said it was glad to see the first lady take part in the games, because it would boost the visibility of the event," the minister added.

Mark Chen, however, admitted that the ministry was aware some "conditions" might be imposed on Wu in Athens several days before her departure, owing to China's machination's in the IPC.

"But the first lady was determined to fight for Taiwan's diplomacy and still decided to go," he added.

James Huang, deputy secretary-general of the Presidential Office, accompanied Wu to Athens and has been negotiating with the IPC regarding Wu's status in the games.

Addressing concerns that Wu might be forced to cancel her public activities because of the IPC's flip-flops, Mark Chen said Wu had rescheduled her public appearances in Athens because of health reasons, rather than Chinese pressure.

"We will defend our rights to the end and will not give up any opportunity to negotiate with the IPC," he added.

`Peaceful rising' is a big chance for Taiwan

By Chu Shin-min and Chen Ming-hsien

Since taking office, Chinese President Hu Jintao has made the ideology of "peaceful rising" the keystone of his development strategy, and has actively promoted it internationally. There have been numerous rumors that Central Military Commission Chairman Jiang Zemin's criticisms of Hu's policies have brought the whole foundation of "peaceful rising" into question. Despite this, Chinese academics have continued to give support and ideological backing to "peaceful rising." Ever since prominence was given to the statement that "the Taiwan issue and Sino-US relations are the two biggest obstacles to peaceful rising," greater definition has been given to the extent and significance of the "peaceful rising" strategy that is the ideological mainstay of Hu and Premier Wen Jia-bao's faction.

"Peaceful rising" is founded on considerations of global governance and comprehensive security. Under this ideological umbrella, it promotes interaction for mutual benefit, focusing on cross-border security issues. So regardless of the real intent behind "peaceful rising," it is certainly in step with trends in international security.

But based on the remark about Taiwan and Sino-US relations, we must acknowledge that Taiwan does not fall within the framework of the "peaceful rising" ideology. If the US supported Taiwan's independence, or if Taiwan declared independence, China would have to sacrifice the last 20 to 30 years of its development and even its hosting of the 2008 Olympics in order to contest the issue militarily. We must recognize this as fundamental.

As manifested in policy implementation, "peaceful rising" is associated with China's projection of "soft power," a concept promoted by US academic Joseph Nye. Soft power is the ability to get what you want by attracting and persuading others to adopt your goals. The emphasis China is putting on soft power can be see in the work of Chinese academics to develop a "national image," as well as the military's use of public opinion, legal and psychological methods to achieve its strategic ends.

But the development of soft power does not necessarily conflict with the development of conventional hard power, and China is in no way neglecting the build-up of its military and economic structures.

For China, the important question is how to ensure balanced development of soft and hard power. China measures the tension between these two types of power and attempts to weigh the relative advantages of using each. As a result it is likely to favor the avoidance of conflict.

But if either of the two obstacles to "peaceful rising" lead to a crisis, then they are likely to use force to resolve the problem.

Nye's soft power is not very different from the soft power proposed by Vice President Annette Lu not long ago. Indeed, the aims of China's peaceful rising are not dissimilar to the situation in which Taiwan currently finds itself.

Moreover, peace is one of President Chen Shui-bian's main aims, and the issues on which China and Taiwan can cooperate vastly outnumber those that bring them into conflict. This is clearly a basis for improving cross-strait relations.

We have to be alert for the real motives behind the theoretical language. But as long as the directions the two countries are taking are mutually consistent -- with both seeking advantage and hoping for more opportunities to interact -- then this is an opportunity that the government should not miss.

Chu Hsin-min is the director of the Mainland Affairs Program at the Prospect Foundation. Chen Ming-hsien is a research assistant at the foundation.

Finding truth through committee

Holding a majority in the Legislative Yuan, the pan-blue camp's legislators yesterday ignored public opinion and vetoed the Cabinet's request to reconsider the "March 19 Shooting Truth Investigation Special Committee Statute" .

Under such circumstances, the nation's political situation can hardly stabilize, in light of the vitriolic confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties.

Every Taiwanese person wants to know the truth behind the mysterious shooting of the president and vice president on the eve of the presidential election, and no one is opposed to a detailed investigation of the case. The problem is this: the organization responsible for the investigation has to be reasonable, and the stipulation of the statute regarding the investigation can violate neither the Constitution nor basic human rights. Only then will the "truth" reached by the committee be credible and convincing. Otherwise, any investigation that violates the principles of justice will become a political disaster.

After the bill creating the Special Committee was rammed through the legislature by the pan-blues last month, the Taipei Society, the Judicial Reform Foundation, the Taiwan Law Society and the Prosecutors' Reform Association all issued comments, saying that many articles in the statute violate democratic and constitutional principles.

In the discussions during this time, both the pan-green and pan-blue camps agreed that the recommendation of committee members based on proportional party representation in the legislature would facilitate political interference; and everyone was worried that the different parties would try to meddle with the truth investigation committee, not in an effort to uncover the truth about the shooting, but rather to turn the committee into another platform for inter-party struggles in the run-up to the year-end legislative elections.

In addition, we all know that proportional representation means that the pan-blue camp will hold the upper hand in the committee, since they have a legislative majority. That would mean that the initial organizational structure starts out as unfair.

How could that be acceptable to the green camp? To begin with, truth cannot be decided through proportional party representation. Small wonder that legislators from the Democratic Progressive Party and the Taiwan Solidarity Union at an early stage declared that they would never participate in this truth investigation committee, which would make it purely a "blue committee" made up of members of the pan-blue camp.

Why not simply set up a commission that is not susceptible to political manipulation? After all, systems are more dependable than individuals.

Chen Jui-jen , a spokesman for the Prosecutors' Reform Association, said that the special committee statute states that the committee is not bound by the the State Secrets Act, Trade Secrets Act or the Code of Criminal Procedure and other laws, a situation which is clearly in violation of the Constitution.

He went on to say that proportional representation would make prosecutors tools of political parties, and also violate the judiciary's right of judgement. This not only violates the five-branch separation of powers embodied in the Constitution, but turns prosecutors into weapons in a struggle for power between political parties.

If the committee said that President Chen Shui-bian staged the assassination attempt, he might not only have to step down, but would most likely be sent to prison as well. Yet if the judgement of the special committee does not convince everyone, then Taiwan is likely to descend into chaos.

Is this the real aim of the pan-blue camp?