UN observer status not top of agenda: MOFA

The China Post --Applying for observer status at the United Nations is not currently on Taiwan's top agenda, Foreign Minister Timothy Yang said yesterday.

“It could be listed as one of many approaches for Taiwan to re-enter the U.N. However, it is not the direction we are heading now,” said Yang.

The minister made the comments yesterday in response to a proposal made by a ruling Kuomintang (KMT) John Chiang (蔣孝嚴) in the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday.

During a legislative session of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Chiang said the Palestinians are currently pushing for full membership at the U.N.

Yet, due to the objection of the Israelis, the United States has made it clear that it will use its Security Council veto to stop the Palestinians from joining the U.N. as a full voting member, Chiang noted.

To solve the dilemma, other U.N. members proposed allowing Palestine to become a “non-voting observer state” in the international body, which according to Chiang, a former foreign minister, could be a goal more easily achievable.

“A standing invitation issued by the U.N. Secretariat is all one state needs to become an observer in the U.N,” said Chiang.

He asked Yang, who fielded questions during the same session, if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) should adopt this approach to join the U.N. instead of applying for full membership.

In response, Yang said Taiwan has tried dozens of ways, including the more radical approach during previous Democratic Progressive Party administration, to re-enter the U.N over the past decades.

However, these drastic approaches were all unsuccessful and backfired, negatively impacting the nation's relations with other countries, Yang noted.

“So we are now adopting a more realistic and practical approach,” he said.

Not applying for U.N. membership dose not mean Taiwan has given up on participating in the world stage, Yang said, adding that the country is still committed to gaining international recognition via soft power.

Realistic Approach

The foreign minister later told reporters that the U.N. is a “highly political” international organization.

The Taiwan government is not unwilling to apply for membership, but a more pragmatic approach should be taken after taking into consideration the overall international environment.

The nation has tried since 1993 to break out of its international isolation by requesting U.N. membership, but without any success.

After President Ma Ying-jeou took office in 2008, the new administration has adopted “modus vivendi” diplomacy, a flexible strategy to reduce confrontation with China in the international arena.

Starting from 2009, Taiwan has not asked its diplomatic allies to put forward a motion during the General Assembly that Taiwan be permitted to join the U.N.

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