the international community, saying such a move is essential to improving relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. Ma said that since he took office, he has been promoting a China policy that is different from that of his predecessor in the hope of tempering cross-strait tensions and improving ties between the two sides. China can play a very crucial role in this process by ending its isolation of Taiwan, Ma said.
The president made the remarks while receiving the U.N. ambassadors of the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nauru and the Solomon Islands, who are on a visit in Taiwan.
Ma noted that through the help of the country's diplomatic allies, Taiwan has since the early 1990s been trying to call the United Nations' attention to the nation's 23 million people's lack of representation in the world body.
The former Democratic Progressive Party administration led by President Chen Shui-bian pushed for U.N. membership under the name of Taiwan last year but encountered strong opposition from China, Ma pointed out.
Over the past several years, Taiwan has also been trying to join the World Health Organization or the World Health Assembly, but Taiwan's involvement has so far been very limited and has not reached the extent of "meaningful participation," he said.
Meanwhile, Ma pledged that while trying to improve its relations with China, Taiwan will continue to strengthen its ties with its diplomatic allies and if possible, will extend or expand cooperation projects with these countries.
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