[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 140 (Friday, September 30, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 30, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                A ROLE FOR TAIWAN IN THE UNITED NATIONS

  Mr. PELL. Mr. President, on Tuesday Dr. Trong Chai came to Washington 
as part of a large Taiwanese delegation to the United States seeking 
support for Taiwanese membership in the United Nations.
  I have known Dr. Chai for a great number of years. He was the founder 
and first president of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs 
[FAPA], an organization that has long struggled to draw attention to 
political and economic developments on Taiwan. Dr. Chai's career is 
testimony to the impressive changes that has occurred in Taiwan.
  Four years ago I pressed the Taiwanese Government to permit Dr. Chai, 
then a professor of political science at the City University of New 
York, to return to Taiwan. Permission was granted and, after 30 years 
of exile in the United States, Dr. Chai made the journey back to his 
homeland. There he formed an organization to press for the 
international recognition of Taiwan.
  Two years later Dr. Chai was elected to the Legislative Yuan, 
Taiwan's parliament, and this month he became the co-chair of the 
Committee on Foreign Relations.
  In the last few weeks I have had the opportunity to meet with leaders 
of both the opposition and ruling party in Taiwan. I have been 
impressed with the unanimity of agreement that exists concerning the 
issue of Taiwanese membership in the United Nations. The economic 
success of Taiwan and its emerging democracy have contributed to a 
rising nationalism in Taiwan. In my view, the nature of Taiwan's 
success will ultimately bring it the international recognition that it 
deserves. I am pleased that the Taiwanese leadership is united in its 
efforts to achieve this goal.
  At a luncheon sponsored by the Formosan Association for Public 
Affairs earlier this week, Dr. Chai presented his views concerning why 
the United States should support Taiwan's readmission to the United 
Nations.
  I ask unanimous consent that Dr. Chai's speech be included in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the speech was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

 The United States Should Support Taiwan in Joining the United Nations

                           (By Trong R. Chai)

       Today is a day for family reunions in Taiwan. It is the day 
     of Taiwan's Moon Festival, a day when the family in Taiwan 
     lift their heads together and enjoy the full moon. We are 
     here to lower our heads for a moment and think about why 
     there is no international family reunion with Taiwan.
       On October 25, 1971, The United Nations, by a vote of 76 to 
     35, passed GA/RES 2758, recognizing the government of China 
     to be represented in the U.N. With this resolution, the other 
     entity for China represented by Chiang Kai-Shek was deemed 
     illegal and expelled from the U.N. Since then, the people of 
     Taiwan have been shut off from this international 
     organization.
       Taiwan is qualified to be a U.N. member. It has scored 
     great economic achievements: a GNP of $220 billion which 
     ranks 20th in the world, a Per Capita Income of $10,500 that 
     ranks 25th, and a foreign trade volume which ranks 13th with 
     a foreign reserve that stands at world's pinnacle. Judging 
     from these records, Taiwan should be admitted to the U.N.
       Among the world's 191 nations, only Switzerland, Holy See, 
     Tonga, Nauru, Tuvalu, Kiribati and Taiwan are not U.N. 
     members. Taiwan is the only nation truly left out of the U.N. 
     Switzerland, the perennial neutral nation, never has the 
     intention of becoming a U.N. member. The other five nations, 
     with an aggregate population of no more than 190,000, occupy 
     small, limited areas of land, and are not willing to join the 
     U.N. Taiwan has been willing and able to become a member of 
     the world organization. However, due to political reasons, it 
     has been denied U.N. membership. The denial of representation 
     for 21 million Taiwanese people, who rank 43rd most populous 
     in the world, violates not only moral principles but also 
     human rights.
       It has been 23 years since Chiang Kai-Shek's Kuomintang 
     (KMT) was expelled from the U.N. Although the people of 
     Taiwan have incessantly expressed their desire to join that 
     world body during these years, their efforts have thus far 
     been in vain. There are two reasons for the failure:
       First, as one of the permanent members of the U.N. Security 
     Council, the People's Republic of China, ignoring the 
     internationally known fact that Taiwan has been independent 
     for forty-five years, still insists that ``Taiwan is a part 
     of China'' and use this as a reason for denying Taiwan's U.N. 
     membership.
       Second, since it retreated to Taiwan in 1949, the KMT 
     government has adhered to the so-called one-China policy, 
     which creates not only great confusion among the 
     international community but also causes Taiwan to linger 
     outside the U.N. door.
       Recently, the KMT government wishes to imitate the 
     precedents set by the two Koreas and the two Germanys and 
     hope that parallel representation would be applicable to 
     Taiwan. Thus, the KMT formulates the formula of ``One nation, 
     two seats,'' by which Taiwan would be able to join the U.N. 
     along with the People's Republic of China. This approach, 
     however, is unrealistic, doomed to fail.
       The reason that all the Koreans and Germans were admitted 
     to the U.N. is that prior to applying for the U.N. 
     membership, both two Koreas and two Germanys had been 
     simultaneously recognized by the international community. In 
     fact, the ground for their admission is based on ``two 
     nations, two seats,'' not ``one nation, two seats.'' Since no 
     nation has simultaneously maintained formal diplomatic 
     relations with both the People's Republic of China and the 
     Republic of China on Taiwan, there is no chance that Taiwan 
     would be admitted to the U.N. with the idea of ``one nation, 
     two seats'' and in the name of the ``Republic of China.''
       To strengthen the humanistic and moral pleas embedded in 
     their endeavor to join the U.N., a plebiscite must first be 
     held. The plebiscite, to determine whether or not the name of 
     ``Taiwan'' would be used, would not only help Taiwan reach a 
     consensus on the name among its people but also show the 
     world the will and the determination of the people of Taiwan 
     in joining the U.N. When the people of Taiwan, by a huge 
     margin, decide to use the name of ``Taiwan,'' the world 
     community should give moral support to the people of Taiwan 
     in their application for a new membership.
       As a champion of human rights and the leader of the 
     democratic world, the United States has taken political and 
     economic sanctions against those nations that seriously 
     violate human rights. This year, the United States has urged 
     China to improve the human rights situation when granting 
     China the Most Favored Nations status. And now that 21 
     million Taiwanese people are being denied U.N. membership, 
     the United States should support Taiwan in joining the U.N. 
     on the ground of universality of membership and for the 
     respect of the human dignity of and human rights of the 
     people in Taiwan.

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