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US op-ed article
calls for international role for Taiwan
By William Lowther / Staff Reporter in Washington
The Wall Street Journal has published an op-ed article by Denny Roy, a senior
fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu, calling for Taiwan to be admitted to
international organizations.
ˇ§By any reasonable criteria, Taiwan, which is among the worldˇ¦s 25 largest
economies and a demonstrably good international citizen, should be a
participant,ˇ¨ Roy wrote.
He says Beijing exhibits ˇ§petty and self-defeatingˇ¨ behavior, -exercising an
effective veto to keep Taiwan out.ˇ¨
It is part of the Chinese Communist Partyˇ¦s strategy to deny Taiwan
ˇ§international spaceˇ¨ and pressure Taiwanese to politically unify with China,
Roy said.
ˇ§Beijing has played such games for years, and it is long past time for a rethink
both by Beijing and by the foreign governments who play along,ˇ¨ he said. ˇ§Recent
improvements in cross-Strait relations should spur Beijing to ease its
resistance.ˇ¨
The attack on Chinaˇ¦s tactics comes as the US House of Representatives is
demanding action on legislation that would push China to let its currency
appreciate.
ˇ§Chinaˇ¦s Taiwan obstructionism is unfair to Taiwanˇ¦s 23 million inhabitants, who
are innocent pawns in Beijingˇ¦s ploy to restrict Taiwanˇ¦s autonomy,ˇ¨ Roy wrote.
ˇ§The mainland is using low-level coercion against Taiwanˇ¦s people by making them
international second-class citizens,ˇ¨ he wrote.
According to top US officials, the administration of US President Barack Obama
is currently looking for ways to improve Taiwanˇ¦s chances of gaining entrance to
international organizations.
Roy called for international pressure to help push Taiwan into the International
Civil Aviation Organization and the UN Framework on Climate Change.
ˇ§The Chinese leadership should stop obstructing Taiwan from playing its natural
and necessary role in meeting global challenges by joining international
organizations focused on specific, practical issues,ˇ¨ he said.
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